Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org, 804-519-8449
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week Secretary Zinke’s Department of the Interior will begin another round of oil and gas leasing on public lands-- auctioning off public lands in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah to the highest bidder. The latest leases are part of an effort by Sec. Zinke to lease every possible acre of public land as quickly as possible. Every three months new swaths near our parks and treasured places are being sold out to industry, steadily eating away at the places people know and love.
“Sec. Zinke’s dirty-fuels-first agenda is dangerous. We’re witnessing the largest push in the history of our country to open up parks and public lands to dirty fuel development, and the consequences for our communities, environment, and climate could be irreparable,” said Dan Ritzman, director of Sierra Club’s Land, Water and Wildlife campaign. “Sierra Club will continue to challenge attempts to open public lands to mining, drilling and fracking at every opportunity-- in the streets, in the courts and in Washington, D.C.”
The expedited leasing process sweeps aside safeguards for people and wildlife and leaves very little opportunity for public input. With as many as 5,000 new oil and gas wells planned for just one leased parcel, and many parcels close to national parks and popular recreation areas, rushing through dirty fuel development has serious consequences for community, economic and environmental health. Increased dirty fuel development also spells trouble for the climate. It would dramatically increase climate pollution even as many of the public lands up for lease are dealing with changing fire seasons, snowpack, wildlife habits and other consequences of the warming already occurring.
Millions of acres of public lands are set to be leased before the end of the year, extending beyond Western states to also include public lands in California, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas, among others. At the same time Sec. Zinke is working to clear the way for additional dirty fuel development in places like the sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, opening up national monument lands of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante to drilling and mining through industry-weighted management plans, and rolling back Endangered Species Act protections that might stand in the way of unfettered access for industry to public resources.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.