Oil Shale Protest Letter
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) undermined the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it decided to amend 12 land management plans for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming without providing an opportunity for the public to protest, The Wilderness Society charged in a letter sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The plans were amended in particular to expedite the commercial development of oil shale in the Green River Basin of the three states.
The letter says that the notice of availability issued when the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) was published “makes it clear that there is no opportunity for continued public participation in the process” and asks “that the BLM withdraw...twelve amendments...until the agency has fully complied with applicable laws.” The BLM also denied the governors of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah the opportunity to conduct formal consistency reviews with the policies and programs of their state, affecting air, water and wildlife, according to the letter.
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Sam Goldman
Sam has been with The Wilderness Society since Fall 2007. He came most recently from M+R Strategic Services in Washington, DC where he worked with national environmental groups to improve their online campaign work and field organizing capacity. Before that, Sam was the Assistant National Field Director for U.S. PIRG where he covered a variety of issues including the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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