Oil and gas fire sale threatens big game herds on public lands
By Kristen Gunther
Over the course of 2018, and under the policy of “energy dominance,” the Bureau of Land Management has offered a staggering amount of public land for oil and gas leasing, and there aren’t any signs that the agency is planning to slow down. Even more troubling, the BLM’s approach to leasing prioritizes energy interests over all other values and considerations for public lands — including Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke’s signature conservation initiative for wildlife.
Unfortunately, this leasing spree has major implications for some of our most treasured public lands. In Wyoming, conservationists are working to safeguard the sensitive Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor — critical habitat under threat from development and, at 150 miles, the longest mule deer migration ever recorded. The BLM’s lease sale in September included parcels directly in the path of this world-renowned big game migration, as well as other critical pathways in the region.
In February, Sec. Zinke signed a Secretarial Order directing the Department of Interior to “enhance and improve the quality of big-game … migration corridor habitat.” We support the priorities expressed in the order, and we were happy to see four parcels withdrawn in advance of the sale as a result. But the administration’s rush to lease without effective stipulations to protect crucial habitat runs counter to Sec. Zinke’s own order.
In policy and in practice, this administration is deferring to states. Sec. Zinke recently proclaimed that the administration will defer to states as “first-line authorities for fish and wildlife management.” Because of this emphasis on state control, much of our effort lately has been focused on our state agencies — we’ve lobbied Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, and the Game and Fish Department to ask the BLM not to lease in migration corridors until a science-based strategy can be developed. While the overwhelming public consensus in Wyoming favors protecting mule deer, our state leaders have not been responsive, nor have they erred toward precaution.
Instead, the state claims it has struck a “balance” with the BLM; the agency notified oil and gas companies purchasing parcels in the corridor that they must cooperate with the state in protecting it. Wyoming’s leaders believe this will be enough to compel commercial operators to site well pads outside the corridor. This strategy is deeply flawed, primarily because this “lease notice” has no legal weight. We’re troubled that our state’s leadership is relying on “good faith” rather than legally-enforceable assurances when the future of our big game herds is at stake.
One thing is clear: this so-called “energy dominance” approach does not fit with the BLM’s “multiple use” mandate, and some of the “uses” that are being sidelined — such as wildlife habitat — are irretrievable. If we disrupt a fragile, narrow migration corridor, we are setting ourselves up for declining herds and losses that we won’t be able to undo.
A bit of good news: a recent court ruling requires the BLM to open additional and expanded public comment periods. This is a step in the right direction toward giving the public a real voice in major decisions that affect the future of our public lands. And at the Wyoming Outdoor Council, we will continue to communicate with our state’s decision-makers and ask them to be stronger voices on behalf of Wyoming’s wildlife. This threat isn’t going away, and we will continue pressing for a more public process and a science-based strategy that ensures permanent protection of big game habitat. Our public lands and wildlife deserve no less.
