Government shut down, but Trump admin still pushing oil and gas development
A campground closed notice at Joshua Tree National Park in California.
NPCA Photos, flickr.
As national parks suffer, fossil fuel development plans continue
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees working in oil and gas programs were called back to work in January, even as President Trump’s partial shutdown of the federal government neared the one-month mark.
The Trump shutdown has paused many crucial programs and halted paychecks to thousands of Americans, but it looks like ‘business as usual’ in one respect: the administration is still moving forward with a short-sighted “energy dominance” agenda.
A government shutdown tracker created by the Center for Western Priorities shows that as of January 23, 9 a.m., the BLM has:
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Approved 15 permits for new drilling operations
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Approved 12 new leases for oil and gas development on public lands
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Accepted 189 applications for drilling permits
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Accepted 114 nominations of public lands parcels to be leased for oil and gas development
Other lease sales, including in Utah and Montana, are moving forward.
The Wilderness Society is among 34 conservation groups calling on the BLM to delay upcoming oil and gas lease sales due to the government shutdown because it is now impossible for mandatory environmental reviews and 30-day public comment and protest periods to be properly enacted.
“These lands belong to everyone, and impacted communities and citizens deserve a chance to voice their concerns,” said Nada Culver, senior counsel at The Wilderness Society.
Not only do oil and gas activities scar the landscape, disrupt wildlife and release dangerous chemicals into the environment, but funding this work seems to be against the rules of a government shutdown. Only employees involved in “emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property” can go back to work during the shutdown.
One BLM staffer told U.S. News, “When you start picking who you're going to start putting in front of the line, and it's going to start being the millionaires and the oil and gas people, then I'm upset.”
Public lands suffering from shutdown effects
National parks and other public lands are dealing with overflowing trash, the theft of cultural artifacts and the destruction of trees, among other concerns. Then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney decided to keep the parks open during the shutdown, despite the safety risks of leaving parks understaffed. Most National Park Service employees are on furlough during the shutdown, with skeletal crews left to man the parks.
Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told NPR’s Here and Now, “I can’t express how damaging [the shutdown] is long-term to the people of the United States.”
National parks are suffering while oil and gas development continues apace. This dichotomy is just the latest example of how the Trump administration is prioritizing oil and gas development over the preservation of public lands open to all Americans.
