Success Stories

American sportsmen have a proud tradition of conserving fish and wildlife and the habitat on which they depend. Sportsmen have been the bedrock of conservation in this nation for more than a century and continue to take a leadership role today. The following examples highlight places sportsmen have spoken up about because they contain world-class hunting and angling opportunities. Day by day, each one of these important places becomes an island of habitat surround by a sea of oil and gas development. If we truly want to maintain our quality of life and our opportunity to hunt and fish on public lands, we must work to strike a balance between energy development and the conservation of critically important habitat.

Wyoming Sportsmen on the Verge of Breakthrough Conservation

Located along the western edge of Wyoming, the Wyoming Range is one of the most popular destinations for sportsmen in the Rocky Mountains. More than 150,000 acres of the Wyoming Range already have been leased to oil and gas companies, and additional proposals are in the works. Fortunately, Wyoming sportsmen have spoken up, and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso introduced legislation in December 2007 that will permanently remove 1.2 million acres of the most important fish and wildlife habitat from future oil and gas leasing.

The Roan Plateau

The Roan Plateau, just north of Rifle in Garfield County, Colo., is home to trophy deer and elk herds, two populations of genetically pure Colorado River cutthroat trout and a recreational fishery for wild brook trout. Despite the fact that more than 1,500 permits to drill could be issued in Garfield County in 2008, the oil and gas industry is pressing the BLM to open the public lands on top of the Roan Plateau for oil and gas development. This current proposal will endanger important wildlife habitat that is literally surrounded by existing oil and gas development.

Fortunately, sportsmen have spoken up, and Congress has listened. Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. John Salazar are working with sportsmen to create a proposal that will conserve local wildlife resources and allow for phased development in appropriate locations.

The Rocky Mountain Front Montana

The Rocky Mountain Front is one of the largest stretches of pristine and undisturbed habitat for elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, upland game birds, and West slope cutthroat trout in the West. This diverse array of species makes the Front one of Montana's best locales for hunting and fishing. Pressure to drill in key habitat at the base of the Front has existed for decades, but leases were not proposed until 2000, when the current administration instructed the BLM to allow development. Faced with permanently losing hunting and fishing opportunities, hunters and anglers spoke up. In early 2006, after countless phone calls, newspaper articles, and trips to Washington, D.C., sportsmen celebrated when Congress passed legislation permanently removing mineral rights for oil and gas development in the Front, a win for sportsmen that was 30 years in the making.

Valle Vidal New Mexico

The Valle Vidal, located in northeastern New Mexico, is home to abundant populations of some of the most prized wildlife in the Rocky Mountains, including mule deer, elk and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. New Mexico sportsmen long have seen the Valle Vidal as an indispensable resource, but in 2002 the oil and gas industry asked the U.S. Forest Service to open the region to gas exploration. Fearing that development would permanently damage wildlife and water resources in the Valle Vidal, a broad and diverse coalition of sportsmen and local citizens spoke up against the proposed exploration. In late 2006, sportsmen enjoyed an historic success when Congress passed legislation that permanently protected key areas of fish and wildlife habitat in the Valle Vidal.