DENVER – In reaction to today’s release of several land use plan amendments for Greater Sage-Grouse by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Western Energy Alliance issued the following statement:
“Conservation of the sage grouse is a goal shared by the oil and natural gas industry, ranchers, other industries, states, and communities across the West,” said Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at Western Energy Alliance. “That goal is best achieved at the state level, not with a one-size-fits-all federal approach. Western Energy Alliance will protest all land use plan amendments that fail to conform with state plans, and will continue to support actions by Congress to delay these land use plans and a final listing decision.”
“The economic impact of sage-grouse restrictions on just the oil and natural gas industry will be between 9,170 and 18,250 jobs and $2.4 billion to $4.8 billion of annual economic impact across Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. Oil and natural gas companies has committed to several hundred conservation measures to protect the sage grouse and its sensitive habitat. With these land use plan amendments based on flawed science, the federal agencies are discouraging more effective state-based conservation, to the detriment of the sage grouse,” concluded Sgamma.
About Western Energy Alliance
Western Energy Alliance, founded in 1974 as the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, is a non-profit trade association representing more than 450 companies engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsible exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West. More information about Western Energy Alliance is available at www.westernenergyalliance.org.