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.

“Given the importance of energy development, we’re encouraged by Secretary Salazar’s commitment to ensuring that it’s done in a way that conserves fish and wildlife habitat and protects air and water quality,” said Steve Torbit, Rocky Mountain regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, which is a leader of the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development coalition. “To that end, this report is a thoughtful step in the right direction.”

“We hope the recommendations in this report receive serious consideration and are adopted as standard operating procedure,” said Steve Belinda, associate director of policy and science for the TRCP Center for Western Lands. “Doing so will allow us to assure both a reliable supply of energy for the nation and sustainable management of our fish and wildlife populations – resulting in less controversy and more certainty for both industry and sportsmen.”