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Sportsmen Urge Salazar to “Put Some Teeth” in Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reforms
In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, a sportsmen coalition urged Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to “put some teeth” in his onshore leasing reforms to safeguard fish and wildlife from irresponsible drilling – and to ensure that America’s public lands are not subjected to a disaster like the one decimating the Gulf coast.
The group of hunters and anglers, representing the 500 organizations in the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development coalition, traveled to Washington, D.C., from across the country and made the request during meetings with top Interior Department officials, including Deputy Secretary David Hayes and Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey.
While acknowledging the importance of energy development, the sportsmen stressed that Secretary Salazar’s onshore oil and gas leasing reforms, although promising, must be stronger to adequately protect fish and wildlife habitat.
“Instead of a massive disaster like in the Gulf, our western public lands are suffering death by a thousand spills,” said Luke Schafer, a sportsman from northwest Colorado and a Colorado Wildlife Federation board member. “The onshore leasing reforms are a step in the right direction, but we need Secretary Salazar to put some teeth in them so what happened in the Gulf doesn’t happen on our public lands.”
In Colorado alone, spills from oil and gas facilities during the last 17 months released an estimated 5.2 million gallons of drilling-related fluids that threaten ground or surface water, according to state oil and gas data. Unfortunately, the actual amount of drilling fluids spilled in the state could be much greater because some accidents reported did not include spill data.
Sportsmen maintain that a lax regulatory atmosphere has resulted in accidents both offshore and onshore, including a recent oil pipeline leak near Salt Lake City that fouled Red Butte Creek and the Jordan River and that could contaminate the Great Salt Lake. Additionally, in recent weeks, three natural gas wells have exploded around the country, including one in Clearfield County, Penn., said Devin DeMario, conservation chair of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Club.
“We recognize the need for energy development and economic growth, but we also need to take every possible precaution to protect people, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat,” DeMario said.
Learn more about the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development coalition.
Learn more about the TRCP’s energy initiative.
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