Number: 2008-04
WHEREAS, the public lands managed under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield by the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Rocky Mountain West support world class cold water fisheries, provide important core habitat and migration corridors for big game species, contain critical winter range for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope, and support struggling populations of sage-grouse; and
WHEREAS, more than 26 million acres of big game habitat, an area the size of Ohio, as well as millions of acres of sage-grouse habitat already have been leased for oil and gas development and more than 126,000 new oil and gas wells have been proposed on public lands in the West over the next 15 to 20 years; and
WHEREAS, hunters, anglers, other members of the public who value wildlife, and wildlife professionals have been denied meaningful participation in the decision-making process about where oil and gas development on public lands is appropriate and how this development can be conducted to minimize impacts to wildlife and fisheries resources; and
WHEREAS, oil and gas development has been exempted from common-sense laws and policies such as the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act that were originally put in place to protect wildlife, fish, water, and habitat from the adverse impacts of energy resource extraction; and
WHEREAS, the state and federal agencies that manage wildlife and fisheries and oversee oil and gas development do not have adequate resources to monitor, plan, and properly manage the expanding number of oil and gas projects occurring on our public lands; and
WHEREAS, the great tradition of public lands hunting and fishing, as well as other outdoor recreation, on public lands in the Rocky Mountain West currently is threatened by short sighted and often irresponsible oil and gas development;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in the annual meeting assembled May 14 -17 in Keystone, Colorado, calls upon the USFS and the BLM to adopt and implement a more balanced approach to the development of energy resources on our public lands, one that will ensure the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat now and in the future; and
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls on the federal land management agencies to employ the best available science regarding the wildlife impacts of oil and gas development and the efficacy of wildlife mitigation measures in order to ensure that wildlife and other important public lands resources are protected for future generations to enjoy; and
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls on Congress to repeal the onerous provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that frustrate public oversight and fast-track oil and gas development on our public lands at the expense of fisheries, wildlife, and communities in the Rocky Mountain West.