Stop Big Oil from destroying our public lands!

The BLM is wants to sell off over 170,000 acres of public lands in Wyoming to Big Oil.

Wyoming’s lands feature the iconic Rocky Mountain landscapes of the American West and provide habitats for wildlife like the greater sage-grouse. We can’t let Big Oil destroy these pristine places.

Comments

Dear Mr. Duane Spencer,

I am writing to protest all 135 parcels currently proposed for the Bureau of Land Management’s June 23-24, 2020 oil and gas lease sale.

Every acre of every parcel proposed for lease in the June oil and gas sale is in greater sage-grouse habitat. 103 whole parcels are located within greater habitat management areas (GHMA), 10 are wholly located within PHMA, and 22 contain lands in both PHMA and GHMA. Development within these parcels would result in significant sage-grouse habitat fragmentation and loss. The lands contained within each of the PHMA units are assumed to contain habitats to support all seasonal life needs of the greater sage-grouse, with parcels 135 and 136 intersecting with PHMA known to have occupied leks within their boundaries. If all 21,562 acres offered for lease in PHMA are sold in the June sale, total acreage of sage-grouse PHMA leased for oil and gas development in Wyoming will increase to 1,820,667, a number that has been trending upwards since April 2018. This outcome would undermine the 2015 Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved Resource Management Plant Amendments for the Rocky Mountain Region (ARMPA), which obligate the BLM to prioritize leasing outside of GHMA and PHMA, in addition to other sage-grouse conservation considerations including protecting Sagebrush Focal Areas, achieving a net conservation gain through mitigation measures, and performing compensatory mitigation when needed.

Habitat quality and quantity are primary functions determining the distribution and abundance of big game. Mule deer populations in the planning area have largely fallen below population objectives set by Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) in recent years. 126 of the parcels proposed for leasing in the BLM’s June oil and gas lease sale are within herd units that did not meet their 2017 population objectives. Oil and gas development on these lands would exacerbate population declines.

Additionally, 41 proposed parcels contain approximately 30,696 acres of mule deer crucial winter range, 56 proposed parcels contain pronghorn antelope crucial winter range, and an additional 3 parcels intersect elk crucial winter range. If leased, oil and gas development on these lands would threaten the high-quality and transitional habitat that these big game species depend on in the winter months for forage. This result would directly contradict 43 U.S.C § 1701 (a)(8) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), which requires the BLM to manage public lands “in a manner that will provide food and habitat” for all wildlife.

Lastly, I am submitting this protest in response to BLM’s decision to move forward with the June oil and gas lease sale in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Wyoming ranks 46th in the country for broadband for internet access, and 51.6% of Americans living on Tribal lands in Wyoming have access to only fixed terrestrial (broadband) 25 mbps/3 mbps services. These statistics underscore the barriers that public lands users and tribal nations in Wyoming have faced in receiving notice of the lease sale, accessing information regarding the parcels proposed for lease, and engaging in the public participation process. As a result, the BLM has not been able to gather all of the suggestions and input that are necessary in order for the agency to make informed decisions concerning this sale and the public lands it will impact.

I urge you to cancel these proposed lease sales or, at the very least, postpone them until after the pandemic is over.

Sincerely, 
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