News about issues affecting the wild lands managed (and sometimes mis-managed) by the Bureau of Land Management -- coming to you from The Wilderness Society’s BLM Action Center
In This Issue:
Carrizo Plain National Monument at Risk to Grazing and Oil and Gas Development
Bakersfield, CA – Carrizo Plain National Monument (Carrizo Plain), a conservation area that is home to the highest concentration of Threatened and Endangered species in California and the most significant remaining example of the Central Valley’s historic ecosystem, may be at risk due to the Department of Interior’s (DOI) intervention in the planning process. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) withdrew a draft plan to make protection of the Monument’s matchless resources a top priority and appears to be moving in a direction that favors business as usual, according to local activists and conservation groups. A coalition of nine conservation groups representing 3 million members today sent a letter to the California State Office of the Bureau of Land Management, calling on the agency to dramatically improve the planning process.
The Bakersfield Bureau of Land Management Field Office has announced plans to develop a Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Carrizo Plain National Monument without preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as required by law. Federal regulations and policies consider the development of the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for a National Monument a “major federal action”, which requires the preparation of an EIS. Instead BLM intends to do an Environmental Assessment (EA), a lesser level of review normally reserved for small non-controversial projects. Furthermore, an EA does not guarantee the same level of environmental review and analysis, or public participation as an EIS. The public and the Monuments resources could suffer as a result.
Conservation groups are asking BLM to do the right thing by developing a plan that puts the Monument’s resources first, in order to provide for their preservation and protection.
For More Information
[Contact: Geary Hund, The Wilderness Society, 951-640-3398]
Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest Takes Another Hit
The Bridger-Teton National Forest Service (B-T) is at it again. Last year, after significant public outcry, including repeated opposition from Governor Freudenthal, the Forest Service halted plans to sell oil and gas leases on the Wyoming Range of the Bridger-Teton. Now, the B-T, in conjunction with the BLM, is starting new energy lease sales. The first one happened earlier this month on December 6th and more are scheduled for early next year.
Further energy drilling would risk the Wyoming Range’s world-class scenery and wildlife, and a wide coalition of Wyomingites including businesses, a local homeowner association, wildlife/outdoor groups, and conservationists oppose the lease sale.
The lease sales are being held without providing the public a chance to comment and are based on an analysis, now twelve years old, that fails to account for new circumstances such as booming development in the nearby Upper Green River Valley and growing air quality concerns. The Wyomingites also expressed concern about the future impact of leases on regional wildlife and the “one way bias” that new leases would create toward eventual drilling.
For More Information
[Contact: Peter Aengst, The Wilderness Society, 406-586-1600, ext. 105]
Forest Service Urges BLM to Address Growing Air Quality Concerns in Greater Yellowstone Area “As Soon As Possible”
In a letter this fall, the U.S. Forest Service urged the BLM to reduce air quality impacts in the Greater Yellowstone Area “as soon as possible” and that “a reduction in impacts from drill rig emissions should be required as a condition of project approval” when referring to the 3,100 additional well Jonah Infill project near Pinedale, Wyoming.
In August 2005 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a supplemental analysis of air quality impacts for the proposed Jonah Infill project and other gas field development in the Upper Green River Valley of western Wyoming. This document—Jonah Infill Drilling Project Air Quality Technical Supplemental Document— predicts significant degradation of the area’s pristine air – including visibility impacts in downwind Forest Service Wilderness Areas and Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks -- if changes aren’t made to the pace of development and control measures imposed.
In an October letter, the Forest Service notes that the Jonah Infill project "could have impacts at significantly higher levels in the Bridger, Fitzpatrick and Popo Agie Wilderness Areas. In addition, the cumulative modeling analyses (project plus regional sources) indicate existing visibility impairment in the wilderness areas."
The Forest Service then recommended: "reduction in impacts from drill rig emissions should be required as a condition of project approval. These reductions should be sought as soon as possible and at the greatest level achievable in combination with various phased development options. Solutions such as electrification of the well field, voluntary emissions offsets from existing sources (in-field or otherwise), and energy conservation and efficiency measures may also help mitigate impacts by reducing emissions."
The BLM is expected to release its final decision on the Jonah Infill project in early 2006.
For More Information
[Contact: Peter Aengst, The Wilderness Society, 406-586-1600, ext. 105]
Is Privatization of Our Public Lands on the Horizon?
2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the Antiquities Act, the landmark tool for the preservation of public lands. Theodore Roosevelt used the Act to protect more than one million acres by designating 18 National Monuments in 9 states. Now, 100 years after the Act’s passage, an extreme anti-environmentalist movement is forwarding a growing number of proposals to sell or otherwise reduce public ownership or control over public lands. These proposals include the controversial sell-off of “mining claims” that was recently removed from the reconciliation bill, a legislative proposal to sell off National Parks to offset “lost revenue” if efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling fail, and a House Resolution to raise funds necessary to respond to Hurricane Katrina and future disasters by selling land administered by the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior.
Other related efforts are geared toward changing policies so public lands benefit select groups rather than the broad public. Examples include a broad range of policy changes that make oil and gas development the dominant use of public lands, including using industry-funded volunteers to process their own drilling permits; “RS2477,” an outdated law that has been resurrected (and misused) to allow states and counties to take over public land; and an increasing number of actions geared toward giving preferential treatment for trail management to groups that can do their own fundraising and trail maintenance rather a balance used approach to management.
[Contact: Dave Alberswerth, The Wilderness Society, 202-429-2695]
About the BLM Action Center
The BLM Action Center was established by The Wilderness Society in response to the relentless assault on America’s public lands. The Action Center operates out of Denver with a mission to protect America’s wild lands and open spaces by helping people participate in decisions that will shape the management of millions of acres of BLM lands throughout the Intermountain West. We also serve as a resource for journalists and a link to the vast expertise of The Wilderness Society’s national staff.
BLM Action Center Staff
- Communications Manager Melissa Kolwaite, a great resource, can direct you to our many experts and spokespeople. 303-650-5818, ext. 118
- Attorney Nada Culver, a great source for interpreting legal aspects of the BLM planning processes. 303-650-5818, ext. 117
- Coordinator Heath Nero is an expert in grassroots organization and governmental processes. 303-650-5818, ext. 116
Additional TWS Communications Contacts
>> Visit the BLM Action Center
