Men's Journal Writes about the Roan Plateau

This month, the Men's Journal has written a story about the Roan Plateau in Colorado.  The article summarizes the fight between energy companies that want to drill 3,200 gas wells on the Roan, and the sportsmen, local outfitters, ranchers, and other outdoor enthusiasts that want to save this precious landscape and the wildlife and game species that depend on it.  Ken Salazar, the Secretary of the Interior, can overturn the leases but so far, he hasn't taken any action to protect the Roan.  CLICK HERE to read the article about this threatened sportmen's paradise.

Sportsmen Praise Salazar for Setting the Record Straight and Calling for Balance in Public Lands Management

DENVER – A sportsmen coalition today commended Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for reminding oil and gas industry officials that America’s public lands are not an entitlement for them to do with as they want.

“Despite what the energy industry may think, public lands aren’t their sole domain,” said Kate Zimmerman, senior policy specialist with the National Wildlife Federation, a leader of the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development coalition.  “Public lands belong to all of us.”
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Sportsmen Praise BLM Decision to Defer Oil and Gas Lease 

CRAIG, Colo. – By deferring an oil and gas lease in northwest Colorado that could have jeopardized native trout, the Bureau of Land Management has signaled a new day for energy development in sensitive fish and wildlife habitats, a sportsmen’s coalition announced today.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development was troubled by oil and gas development proposed for the 900-acre parcel due to its potential impacts on two populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout, a species of special concern in Colorado. The public land in the proposal, located 25 miles northeast of Craig, encompasses Cataract Creek and the Roaring Fork of Slater Creek. It was originally reviewed for leasing in 1991.

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Sportsmen Applaud “Thoughtful” Report on Utah Energy Leases

DENVER (October 8, 2009) – A sportsmen coalition today praised a new report on energy development as a “thoughtful step in the right direction” that will help safeguard public lands and air quality in Utah and other western states.

The special report, issued today by the Bureau of Land Management, recommends that the BLM take the lead in developing a comprehensive interagency strategy to address energy development in the West. The recommendations include increasing collaboration at the federal and state levels, studying the use of interdisciplinary field reviews for proposed lease sales and improving interdisciplinary coordination in identifying potential lease parcels.

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