This year your support helped pull 44,700 acres of western Wyoming’s beautiful Bridger-Teton National Forest lands off the oil and gas chopping block, but now we must report to you that our victory is being threatened — and could even be reversed — by the powerful oil and gas i
The oil and gas industry and their political allies persistently argue that “the answer” to America’s energy needs is “more drilling” and “more access” to federal lands and waters. However, recent data from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Minerals Management Service (MMS) indicate that, though tens of millions of acres of onshore and offshore federal lands are already leased to oil and gas companies, the vast majority of these lands are not producing oil or gas.
Industry Hoarding Both Permits and Leases While Shipping More Gasoline Overseas
Despite increasing calls for more domestic oil drilling, the oil and gas industry is continuing to allow thousands of drilling permits to go unused according to data released by the Bureau of Land Management to The Wilderness Society.
WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior announced today it is calling on the Inspector General to conduct an investigation into an unprecedented deal on oil shale research, development and demonstration (RD&D) leases for a select few companies during the final days of the Bush administration. The Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Western Resource Advocates are encouraged by this announcement that should improve the process and accountability of decisions on land leases.
WASHINGTON - As the Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management evaluate the impacts that oil and gas development would have on red rock wilderness lands in Utah, conservation groups are calling for ongoing protection of these treasured areas. Following the Bush Administration’s attempted last-minute auction of 77 parcels of lands last year, the courts ruled that BLM did not follow proper procedures.
WASHINGTON – More than 100,000 acres of Utah wilderness will be protected from oil and gas drilling after the Department of Interior announced today that it will cancel 77 leases issued under the Bush administration. This is among the first actions taken by the Obama administration to protect America’s wild lands.
Along the southern boundary of Greater Yellowstone in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, a proposed natural gas development continues to draw public criticism for threatening the area’s legendary wildlife and Wild and Scenic Hoback River. And now, there are growing concerns about air pollution spreading into surrounding wilderness areas and Grand Teton National Park.
Another victory in the Arctic! The Arctic Ocean’s pristine waters and abundant wildlife are safe from drilling for another year. Shell Oil announced Feb. 3 that it has abandoned its plans to drill an exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea several miles off the coast of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2011.
The Obama Administration's Dec. 1 announcement to rescind its Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) drilling plans for the Atlantic seaboard and the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico near Florida was a bittersweet pill for those of us working to protect the Arctic Ocean and its coastline from oil spills and development.
