FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 24, 2007
Contact
Bob Springmeyer, (801) 673-9021
Hugo Tureck, (406) 567-2480
Ken Neubecker, (970) 376-1918
Tim Turri, (505) 491-2143
Duane Hyde, (307) 884-8602
Sportsmen unveil Public Lands Energy Agenda at National Press Club
Initial reaction from hunters and anglers to House Natural Resources Committee energy bill is positive
WASHINGTON — Western sportsmen came to Washington D.C., this week and made the case for stronger protections for fish, wildlife, and water resources on public lands in the Rocky Mountain West. They also helped the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Trout Unlimited (TU) launch the Sportsmen's Public Lands Energy Agenda on Thursday at the National Press Club.
Release of the Sportsmen's Energy Agenda coincides with hearings on an energy bill before the House Natural Resource Committee — a bill supported by the sportsmen.
"This document lays out the concerns many hunters and anglers have with the rapid pace of energy development in the West and offers solutions to Congress that we hope will become federal policy," said Sean McMahon, director of National Land Stewardship Campaigns for NWF. "Energy development is compromising some of the best places to fish and hunt in the West. Sportsmen are taking the lead in efforts to protect these places."
The Sportsmen's Energy Agenda asks Congress to increase financial resources to state and federal fish and wildlife managers; increase public involvement; put in place protective measures of the most important fish and wildlife habitat; and to ensure the protection of both water quality and water flows.
"The effects of willy-nilly energy development on fish and wildlife and fishing and hunting are well known to sportsmen," said Chris Wood, vice president of conservation programs at TU. "Rather then grumble and gripe, sportsmen are organizing themselves and making sure their voices are heard by Congress. And, if the energy bill before the House Natural Resources Committee is any indication, it seems to be working."
Duane Hyde, a retired game warden who served 45 years with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said big-game winter range has already been lost in many low-elevation valleys in his state. Now, energy development is moving uphill into prime habitat for deer, elk, moose and native cutthroat trout in the Wyoming Range near his home in Afton, Wyo.
"Like a lot of sportsmen in Wyoming, I value our energy resources," Hyde said Thursday. "But I can't stand by and watch as some of the most important habitat for our state's game and fish is sacrificed to the drill bit. There needs to be better planning and better execution. I believe we can drill for oil and gas without trashing habitat and water qualityÑthere just needs to be a commitment from the industry and better oversight that considers this habitat before land is leased."
Tim Turri, a hunting outfitter from southern New Mexico, understands first-hand the impact poorly planned leasing can have on game populations. He guides hunters on Otero Mesa, prime elk, bighorn sheep and deer habitat that sits over coveted fossil fuel reserves.
"If we're not careful, we're going to lose places like Otero Mesa to unchecked development," Turri said. "We can't have federal agencies enabling irresponsible development, and because the agencies are undermanned and underfunded, that's what's happening. The agenda we outlined today offers solutions to these problems and will help ensure the impacts to fish and game habitat are carefully considered before leases are sold, roads are built and wells are drilled."
In addition to asking Congress to ensure the protection of important habitat by directing agencies to follow existing environmental laws, the sportsmen's agenda also asks lawmakers to put measures in place that prevent the government from selling public lands to industry or other private interests. Recent attempts to sell off public lands have been met with steadfast opposition from anglers and hunters, who have become a powerful conservation voice in the West.
"I don't think we can be ignored, that's for sure," said Ken Neubecker, an avid fly fisherman from Carbondale, Colo. "We are mobilized in support of the places we fish and hunt, and as sportsmen we want these public lands protected and carefully managed for all their resources, not just for their mineral assets."
Hugo Tureck, who runs a ranch near the Missouri Breaks in Montana, agreed.
"I think most of us completely understand the need to carry our weight when it comes to the nation's energy needs," he said. "But public land in the West is economically valuable in many different waysÑrecognizing that much of this land, left as it is today, will contribute to our rural economies for generations is just as important, if not more so, than pulling gas and oil out from beneath it."
Bob Springmeyer, owner of a research firm in Salt Lake City and a voracious angler who fly fishes the Provo River regularly, has seen how energy development has already compromised fishing and hunting opportunity in his state.
"If we're not careful, the resources we lose in order to get at the oil and gas will soon outweigh the benefits of drilling," he said. "I'm like a lot of other sportsmenÑI understand the economic benefits the gas and oil industry brings to the West, and I appreciate those benefits. But I also value fish and game habitat, and hope my grandchildren will be able to enjoy the same quality fishing and hunting I've enjoyed over my lifetime."
The sportsmen's agenda is available at www.tu.org.
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