Save Fish and Wildlife Habitat from Oil Shale

In the rush to find new lucrative sources of oil, companies are hurrying to start large-scale oil shale developments in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. Such development could deplete the region’s water supply – wreaking havoc on some of our nation’s most valuable fish and wildlife habitats and potentially devastating rural economies.

Hunters and anglers support responsible energy development on public lands, but want federal land managers to move cautiously on oil shale. Companies should prove they can produce oil shale in economically and environmentally sound ways before commercial leases are issued.

Urge the Department of the Interior to support the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for responsible public-lands oil shale development.

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Subject:

Your Letter:

Dear Interior Secretary Salazar and BLM Acting Director Poole,

Thank you for recognizing the importance of protecting healthy, intact ecosystems in the western United States and public lands – the “crown jewels” of our nation.  As a sportsman, I support responsible development of our nation’s energy resources, but not at the expense of fish and wildlife habitat, abundant populations, and my recreational opportunities.

That’s why I commend the decision by the Department of the Interior to adopt the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed "preferred alternative" 2(b) in the 2012 Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for oil shale and tar sands development in the West.

This alternative strikes a good balance of protecting important fish and wildlife habitats from the expected impacts of commercial scale oil shale and tar sands development while providing adequate lands for a research program and requiring that operators successfully fulfill the terms of a Research, Development and Demonstration lease before they can secure commercial development rights.

By requiring companies to first prove their technologies and assess the impacts to communities, human health, and fish and wildlife, Alternative 2(b) helps ensure that commercial oil shale and tar sands development will only be initiated following a fuller understanding and evaluation of its impacts.

I strongly urge that you adopt Alternative 2(b) in the final plan to safeguard our western lands, abundant fish and wildlife populations, and our nation’s hunting and fishing heritage. Thank you for your time.

Ken Salazar

Secretary of Department of the Interior

Mike Poole

Acting Director of Bureau of Land Management