Guest post by Tim Gestwicki, CEO of North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

If you’re a sportsman here in North Carolina, you’re pretty thankful for the Nantahala, for John’s River, Sandy Marsh & Elk Knob. You give thanks for the Tar River, and Lake Mattamuskeet.

And while you’re at it you give a heartfelt thanks to senator Hagan, who has protected our forests, lakes and streams by voting to support reducing the mercury & industrial carbon pollution that threatened to ruin them, protecting our hunting and fishing industry that brings 3.3 million dollars annually to our state.

So let’s take a moment and give thanks to the Roanoke River, the Cape Fear wetlands and Wilson Creek. And let’s thank Senator Hagan for standing up for them, and for our outdoor heritage.

These words of thanks for the incredible public lands and natural places in North Carolina—which you may hear on your radio here in North Carolina—are why outdoorsmen like me took notice of Senator Hagan’s vote to support reducing mercury and carbon pollution during last month’s budget votes.

Positive Votes on Climate

Buried among the hundreds of budget votes that the Senate took were some positive votes towards confronting climate change.

Majorities of senators—including Senator Hagan—voted to support key Clean Air Act provisions allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to limit the amount of industrial carbon and mercury pollution fouling our skies.

Congress shouldn’t use the budget to cut important protections against air pollution that harms our public lands and air.  North Carolina Senator Hagan deserves our thanks for opposing the harmful amendment.

Thank Senator Hagan

Tell Senator Hagan “Thank you for voting line with your concern about climate change by supporting the Clean Air Act” on Facebook.

Send her a tweet saying Thanks @SenatorHagan for your support of climate & @EPAgov during budget votes.”

Tim Gestwicki is CEO of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) with over 20 years in non- profit conservation work.  A sportsman who helped lead the building of an elite, formidable conservation organization recognized for effective and efficient work statewide, regionally and nationally, Tim has established a one of kind wildlife habitat coalition comprised of sporting and land conservation groups to work in unified fashion on agriculture, farm bill and private lands habitat efforts; and has initiated new wildlife habitat programs for developers, places of worship, and islands.  Tim enjoys hunting and fishing in NC from the mountains to the coast.

NWF: Keystone XL Tar Sands Vote a Test of Climate Commitment

March 22-The U.S. Senate is set to vote today on what’s known as the Hoeven amendment, a non-binding amendment that expresses support for building the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline regardless of its impacts on wildlife, climate change, and clean water.

Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“We’re coming off America’s hottest year on record as the cleanup from climate-fueled superstorm Sandy is still ongoing, and what’s the Senate hard at work on? Earning its low approval rating by capitulating to polluting special interests with a meaningless vote on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Check out more on Keystone XL

Westerners Praise Salazar Plan to Protect Water from Costly Oil Shale Speculation

March 22-Westerners praised the Salazar oil shale plan released by the Interior Department today for its smart approach to protecting water and local communities from costly oil shale speculation.

“We commend Secretary Salazar for developing a commonsense plan that makes public land available for research but requires results and environmental safeguards before any commercial leasing can proceed,’’ said Michael Saul, attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. “This new plan aims to ensure that we won’t risk precious water, air quality, fish, wildlife and the regional economies that depend on those resources on a gamble that might never pay off.”

The plan requires that companies conduct successful research operations of oil shale and prove oil shale’s economic viability before the Bureau of Land Management will consider commercial development. Companies will also be required to put proper safeguards in place to protect water supplies, land, wildlife, air quality and local economies.

For more on Carbon Pollution, visit  Stopping Carbon Pollution

If sequestration goes into effect, $1.8 million will be cut from Yellowstone, the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild bison has persisted since prehistoric times. Our national parks are crucial to protecting American wildlife: one-third of endangered and threatened species in the U.S. can be found within park boundaries. (Debra Boucher)

Last month, we finally got a peek at what exactly sequestration might mean for America’s habitats and ecosystems—and it’s not pretty.

A setback for conservation and the economy

According to a January 25 National Park Service memo obtained by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, sequestration will have a disastrous impact on parks and all those who enjoy them.

This is not mere speculation: in the memo, National Park Service director Jon Jarvis explicitly said that sequestration will force them to delay permanent and seasonal hiring—perhaps indefinitely, if the budget situation is not resolved—and limit access to cherished national treasures:

“We expect that a cut of this magnitude, intensified by the lateness of the implementation, will result in reductions to visitor services, hours of operation, shortening of seasons and possibly the closing of areas during periods when there is insufficient staff to ensure the protection of visitors, employees, resources and government assets.”

And there’s more: according to additional information obtained by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees last week, sequestration will directly impact more than 1 million visitors to 12 of the nation’s leading national parks.  In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar warned that, in addition to the steps above, the Department of the Interior will have to close 128 wildlife refuges and discontinue visitor services at all 561 national wildlife refuges.

If the Department of the Interior is forced to enact these cuts, it will not only undermine our rich national conservation legacy and restrict the activities of hunters, anglers, hikers, boaters, and all outdoor enthusiasts, it will have a serious economic impact. America’s 37 million sportsmen spent $90 billion in 2011 alone.  And 140 million Americans spend $646 billion a year on outdoor recreation, an industry that employs 6.1 million Americans.

Sportsmen agree: don’t cut conservation funding

In NWF’s 2012 national poll of sportsmen, 84% of respondents said that the federal government should make it a priority to conserve fish and wildlife habitat and manage public lands for fishing, hunting, and other outdoor recreation.

Don’t let Congress shirk their responsibility to our public lands. Indiscriminate cuts to discretionary programs that devastate our public lands and wildlife are not the solution.

Act now: click here to tell Congress  not to let the budget crisis devastate wildlife.

Today, a bipartisan group of Western representatives and senators introduced the Public Lands and Renewable Energy Development Act of 2013.

I am feeling giddy. Let me tell you why.

Growing up on the East Coast, our town playground and basketball court were the extent of my understanding of public lands. Though our eastern states also have their fair share of state and federal forest land and park systems, my first experience with real public lands came during a cross country bicycle ride. I fell in love with the wide open spaces I didn’t have in my backyard back home.

On a bike it’s easy to see how much use we get out of our federal public lands—like the 285 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Hunting, fishing, hiking, all forms of energy development, ranching, off-road vehicle use, and incredible wildlife habitat to boot. Experiencing our Western public lands in person made me proud to live in America.

I’ve since learned more about the pressures our public lands are feeling, particularly from a rapidly changing climate and energy development decisions. National Wildlife Federation’s recent report, Wildlife in a Warming World, highlighted the impacts of increased drought, wildfire, and invasive species on big game, sagebrush habitat, and other sensitive wildlife

A Framework for Renewable Energy Development on Public Lands

So that gets us back to the bill introduced today by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and others. It creates the framework for more efficient, responsible renewable energy development on public lands and would strategically direct the revenue from development to pay back local communities, fish and wildlife resources, and hunting and angling access potentially impacted by this clean energy development.

It’s a win-win for clean energy and wildlife conservation and you heard it right in the intro—supported by Westerners from both parties. That’s cause for celebration in and of itself!

In 2009, our public lands had zero approved solar energy projects and very few wind energy projects. With a lot of effort, this changed over the last three years, with now over 30 projects and 12GW permitted, enough power for 3-5 million homes per year.

To be frank, our current system for wind and solar development on public lands is woefully inefficient for every interested stakeholder—the clean energy industry and the wildlife advocate. It nearly always results in more conflict than necessary.

This bill helps solve these significant barriers to clean energy development and wildlife conservation. It also ensures some of the revenues from development on public lands goes back to impacted communities, particularly through a conservation fund for cumulative impacts to the landscape and sportsmen’s access.

As we embark on a clean energy future, there is a model to avoid. 140 years ago the U.S. Congress passed a law to promote mining and Western expansion, with provisions that hinder wildlife and habitat conservation to this day. For decades, campaigns have worked to fix that mining law.

Let’s not look back 30 years from now with the realization that we made the same policy mistakes in the rush to stop carbon pollution with wind and solar energy on public lands. Instead, let’s put in place now the right framework for efficient, sustainable development of wind and solar energy and help address its impacts with a conservation fund.

Learn more about NWF’s efforts to advocate for wildlife-friendly renewable energy >>

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama nominated Sally Jewell, CEO for the outdoor outfitter REI, as successor to Ken Salazar as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.  Conservation groups, senators and Western energy producers alike praised the selection as a smart choice to do everything from protecting land, connecting kids to nature, addressing climate change, creating jobs and increasing development.

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Flickr photo by DaveTBear

Hopefully future Secretary Jewell will accomplish that vision by heeding the words of  former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who spoke this week at the National Press Club on the importance of restoring a true balance of conservation and energy development on public lands.

“On Equal Ground”

At the press conference, Sec. Babbitt praised the “excellent record” of Pres. Obama and Sec. Salazar, citing accomplishments like new vehicle fuel efficiency standards, doubling the production of renewable energy, protecting the Grand Canyon from uranium mining, creating an innovative management plan for Alaska’s Arctic Reserve, and more. But he also called on the Obama administration to improve his public lands conservation legacy in the second term by putting conservation on “equal ground” as energy development.

Babbitt compared the number of acres of permanently protected land under Obama to the last few presidents. The number has drastically declined during Obama’s tenure. Meanwhile, Babbitt noted, “the pace of oil and gas leasing on public lands has continued at a high rate.” While Secretary Babbitt acknowledged that energy development is an appropriate use of public lands, but clearly demonstrated the current imbalance of conservation and development, skewed heavily in favor of oil and gas drilling.

To restore this balance, Babbitt is calling on Interior (and thus future Sec. Jewell) to recommit to conservation. For every acre of land leased to oil and gas, Babbitt proposed, the administration (and Congress) should protect a new acre of land for conservation. He also urged President Obama to use his existing authority to designate new special places such as National Monuments or Wildlife Refuges in order to spur action from Congress. Capitol Hill needs a wake-up call — the 112th Congress is the first since WWII that did not designate even an acre of federal wilderness. Protecting the outdoors is not a radical idea. A new “State of the Rockies Conservation in the West” poll from Colorado College shows the overwhelming support of Western voters for protecting land and water and opposed the idea of turning public lands over to states and private interests.

“Where is the Balance?”

Former Secretary Babbitt is right: renewing the commitment between America and protection of the great outdoors will continue to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy our country’s proud outdoor heritage and wildlife.  The Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development (SFRED) coalition, a group led by National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, advocates for this same balanced approach on public lands, taking into account the cumulative impact to fish, wildlife habitat and water resources as well as hunting and fishing opportunities.

Drilling operations across tens of thousands of acres of the Roan Plateau on the Western Slope of Colorado. Flickr by SkyTruth

Fortunately, perseverance and citizen action eventually pays off when it comes to conservation on public lands.  Just this week the Colorado Bureau of Land Management decided to withdraw proposed oil and gas leases that include big game habitat and trout fisheries along the North Fork of the Gunnison River.  The decision followed protests and letters from hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts concerned about selling leases using a 23-year-old resource management plan.

I do not envy Sally Jewell’s new job, but it is a critically important position that will shape the future of this country’s energy and conservation future.  Forget criticism from special interest groups: Jewell will have her hands full tackling climate change, figuring out ways to deal with potentially devastating budget cuts, protecting new landscapes despite Congressional inaction and finding ways to preserve clean air, water and wildlife.  It may still be the honeymoon period, but I am confident that she is up to the task.

 The Department of the Interior is facing devastating budget cut proposals from Congress.  If we expect Sally Jewell to be able to move conservation forward, she needs the resources to do her job.  Take action by sending a message urging Congress to not let the budget crisis devastate wildlife.

Hunters and anglers are seeing the fallout of climate change firsthand. Photo by Lew Carpenter.

“We’re out there. We’re outside hiking the mountains and wading the rivers and wandering the landscapes. When the snow comes late and the elk stay up in the high country until the hunting season is over, we notice. When the beetles overrun a new piece of country and the forest begins to die off we notice. When our rivers are low and warm because of drought and our biologists have to close it down because the fish are stressed from high water temperatures and low oxygen levels, we notice. And when the smoke from October forest fires fills our alleys and blocks out the mountains to the point where we can’t hunt or fish, we notice.”

Tanner explained during a recent press event for a new National Wildlife Federation report, Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisis, that he has experienced all those things “right here in Montana.’’  As chairman of the advocacy group Conservation Hawks, he works with other hunters and anglers to educate sportsmen and sportswomen about climate change and make sure that sportsmen’s voices are heard on “the biggest threat we’ve ever faced.”

“Hunters and anglers are starting to realize that we’re about to get slammed,” Tanner said. “Climate change is going to trash everything we care about, the places we hunt and fish, our outdoor traditions and our sporting heritage, our families, our kids.”

For Tanner, climate change is a moral issue. “Somebody has to stand up and say that this is wrong, that we can’t turn our backs on our sons and our daughters and our grandkids. Somebody has to stand up for our values in traditions and for the natural world that we cherish.”

Tanner believes hunters and anglers are the ones to lead the charge because of their numbers, because so many of them are conservative-leaning and can speak to politicians of all stripes – and because they’re on the front lines of the landscape-transforming, climate-change-driven events. He believes sportsmen can help persuade the people who need to be at the table – conservative politicians – to take a seat.

“There are 37 million hunters and anglers in the United States,” he said. “We are the 800-pound gorilla in the group, the one that nobody talks about because we haven’t really made any noise yet.”

A fire-ravaged mountainside and discolored, beetle-infested trees in Colorado’s Poudre Canyon are stark rememinders of climate change’s effects. NWF photo by Judith Kohler.

That will change as more sportsmen make the connection between what they’re seeing in the fields, mountains and streams and climate change, Tanner said.

“And I think what you’re going to see more and more is hunters and anglers who tend to be conservative, who for the most part are a little bit more traditional than maybe some other segments of society, pushing on politicians, particularly red-state politicians, to get involved saying, ‘This impacts me deeply and if you care about me and my family, if you care about our traditions the way you said that you have in the past, then you need to change your mind on this. You need to go to the table, you need to address this.’”

Want to help? Share this post with your friends who hunt and fish.

118 Sportsmen’s and Conservation Groups Urge Congress to Extend Wind Tax Credits

December 04-Congress should extend critical tax incentives that encourage renewable energy production and energy efficiency, 118 sportsmen’s, business and conservation groups from all over the U.S. urged in a letter to Congress today. The letter, with a list of sponsors, also appears as an ad in Politico today.

“Investment and growth in properly-sited, wildlife-friendly clean energy and conservation are the best ways to combat climate change, sustain communities, create American jobs, and promote economic growth across the country,” they wrote.

The letter asks Congress to continue the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC), tax incentives that will expire this year if Congress does not reauthorize them. The letter is consistent with a September poll of sportsmen that found 72 percent of hunters and anglers back renewable energy solutions.

For more, check out the following blog post:

• Sportsmen’s and Conservation Groups Letter to Congress (pdf)

Report Warns Planned Tar Sands Pipelines a North American Menace

December 06-Inviting an unprecedented expansion of tar sands pipelines in the U.S. and Canada would commit the countries to decades of doing business with companies that have a long record of disregard for the environment, human health and landowner rights, says a new report. The report release comes just a short time before the Obama Administration is slated to make an historic decision on the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

A tally of the new capacity, over 9,000 miles of pipe, finds the vast majority would be overseen by Canadian pipeline giants TransCanada and Enbridge. The report documents the two companies’ history of bullying landowners, influence peddling, wildlife deaths, oil spills and other bad acts that led the authors to name the report, “Crude Behavior: TransCanada, Enbridge, and the Tar Sand Industry’s Tarnished Legacy.”

While voters in the U.S. just rebuked an unprecedented fossil fuel industry effort to defeat President Barack Obama, who received widespread support from conservationists during his campaign, his administration will face an early test on the direction of its second-term climate and energy policy when it issues a final decision on TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. Defeated challenger Mitt Romney had promised to approve Keystone XL on his first day in office.

“Politicians cannot be serious about addressing extreme weather and slowing global warming if they ignore the pollution, wildlife, and property rights impacts of Keystone XL,” said Joe Mendelson, National Wildlife Federation’s director of climate and energy policy. “The carbon pollution math simply does not add up.”

For more on the report, check out the following blog post:

• Pipeline Companies’ Crude Behavior Exposed

For the full “Crude Behavior” report, check out:

• www.nwf.org/crudebehavior

Ranger Rick Goes Digital! Introduces the First Truly Interactive Magazine for Kids

December 05-Ranger Rick, everyone’s favorite raccoon, is introducing a new, highly interactive magazine app called Ranger Rick’s Tree House. The National Wildlife Federation, publisher of Ranger Rick magazine, and also Ranger Rick’s Tree House, has entertained and educated generations of children about the wonders of animals and nature for 50 years. Like the print magazine, all educational content within the magazine app is aligned to national curriculum standards and meets the fun-factor that Ranger Rick readers have grown to know and love.

“This product totally re-envisions how children ages 7-12 read and consume magazine-like content on digital devices,” says Mary Dalheim, Editorial Director of Ranger Rick Publications.  “No other digital children’s magazine is more innovative, interactive, or just plain fun.”

For more on Ranger Rick’s Goes Digital, check out:

• Ranger Rick’s Tree House
• Ranger Rick Goes High Tech (blog post)

Win a Pass for a Private Screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

December 04-National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is teaming up with Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) and New Line Cinema for the Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The film opens in theaters and IMAX® 3D December 14. As the education partner for the film, the National Wildlife Federation is providing online resources to help students, educators, parents and individuals start their own unexpected journey outdoors and is hosting a sweepstakes for a complimentary private screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The sweepstakes deadline is 11:59 p.m. on December 13. Enter on NWF’s website www.nwf.org/thehobbit

Report: Crude Behavior

December 06-Up north of the border, past Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, the planet’s biggest carbon bomb is ticking. It’s called the tar sands region, and it represents both incredible feats of industry and incredible hubris —– and potentially the last blow to the fight against global climate change.

Tar sands are sludge. A sticky, viscous, tarry material that literally oozes from the ground in certain areas of northern Canada and other places like Russia, Venezuela, and even right here in the US. Technically called “bitumen,” tar sands can be processed into gasoline and other petroleum products, though it takes more effort and causes a lot more pollution than conventional oil, the liquid we’re used to seeing drilled up by rigs in Texas or Saudi Arabia. The cornerstone of the argument against tar sands is that because it requires so much energy to turn from sludge into gasoline, it produces a significantly greater amount of the carbon dioxide which is turning our atmosphere into a heat-trapping blanket and fundamentally altering nearly every ecosystem on Earth. About 100 trillion gallons of tar sands have been discovered so far, enough to fill 160 million Olympic swimming pools. The vast majority is in Canada, which holds around three quarters of the world total.

For more on Tar Sands, check out the following blog post:

• Pipeline Companies’ Crude Behavior Exposed

For more on the oil industry, check out the following blog post:

• The Push for Oil Shale: News Ripped from Last Century’s Headlines

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• E&E Greenwire: Enviros Blast Pipeline Companies Ahead of Obama’s Decision
• Public News Service: Tar Sands Pipeline Project “Slinking Forward” Towards Maine
• Public News Service: Tar Sands Pipeline Project “Slinkning Forward” Into New England
• The Pittsburgh Press:  Aviary’s birds prep for national TV spot
• About.com: The Hobbit Private Screening Contest Details
• Mother Nature Network:  New magazine brings wildlife wonder to little adventurers
• Public News Service:  Ohio Hunters and Anglers Back Clean Wind Energy
• The New York Times: A New Wildlife Magazine Aimed at the Very Young
• Wicked Local Lexington: Lexington backyard certified as wildlife habitat

For more visit www.nwf.org/news

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund

Many of North Americans’ favorite fish—rainbow trout, smelt, striped bass, bonefish,  scamp, Alabama cavefish, snapper, black grouper, yellow perch, blackspotted stickleback, flounder, monkfish, and gefilte, to name a few—will be at risk if the sequester budget cuts go into effect. National Wildlife Federation’s four million members love to fish. And fishing and hunting are on the rise: according to the 2011 national survey released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, there has been a 9% increase in hunters and an 11% increased in anglers over the last five years.

Protect America’s fishing legacy!
Photo: Colorado Division of Wildlife

The WSFR exists thanks to two pieces of legislation: the 1937 Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which put an excise tax on sporting guns and ammunition in order to fund wildlife restoration, and the 1950 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act, which applied the same principle to fisheries restoration. Together, the two funds offer one of the most successful examples of the “user pay/user benefit” principle: the funds come entirely from a modest excise tax on fishing and hunting equipment, and are distributed to states by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be used for conservation projects that enhance wildlife recreation and hunting and fishing opportunities.  Nevertheless, these funds already reserved for conservation will be subject to deep and catastrophic cuts under sequestration.

A Legacy of Conservation

The WSFR has had perhaps more impact than any other single conservation program. The flexible distribution of the funds means that states have considerable agency in deciding how best to use them, and WSFR has been used for an incredible variety of conservation programs. Over the past 75 years, it has helped restore countless wildlife populations and habitats, supported outdoor recreation and education program, and assisted states in acquiring delicate wetlands.

In 2012, the WSFR gave out about $720 million to states for conservation and restoration programs, funding that is crucial to the day-to-day operation of state fish and wildlife agencies.

Under sequestration, however, spending by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund will be cut by a total of $65 million—funds that would otherwise go towards restoring critical wildlife habitats and fisheries.

What is more, the continued funding of sportsmen-valued programs like the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program is incredibly important to our economy:  in 2011, over 37 million hunters and anglers spent $90 billion in recreational expenditures nationwide.  The recent sportsmen’s poll released by National Wildlife Federation showed that, regardless of political affiliation, America’s sportsmen are committed to conservation programs like WSFR.

At a time when climate change was almost completely absent from the presidential election , it is more important than ever to fight for the crucial conservation programs we rely on to protect wildlife for our children’s future. Click on the button to contact your Senators and Representatives today to let them know that sequestration will have a huge impact on the conservation programs you care about, and urge them to work towards a balanced approach to raise revenue, reduce the deficit, and prevent these cuts. 

Last week, Rep. Rob Bishop (UT) and Rep. Steve Pearce (NM) sent a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, claiming that selling off public land and taking more public land for drilling will help solve our budget crises. This isn’t a unique idea—Paul Ryan’s House-passed budget proposal also calls for selling our public land to the highest bidder.

It’s true that Congress will need to come up with ideas on how to reduce our deficit, but selling cherished parks, forests, and wilderness isn’t the right one. Auctioning away America’s natural wonders is a reckless endeavor that will only hurt local economies, destroy wildlife habitat, and obstruct access to millions of people who enjoy hiking, fishing, hunting, and exploring our country’s public lands.

Whether its through direct jobs, tourism, or gear for outdoor activities, public lands pump billions of dollars into our economy. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, the outdoor recreation economy supports 6.1 million direct American jobs and $646 billion in direct consumer spending each year.

Public lands also provide critical wildlife habitat and are necessary for cleaning our air, providing clean water, and sequestering carbon pollution. Sacrificing these things now is a short sighted move that will hurt future generations.

Polar bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge // Susanne Miller/USFWS

Reps. Bishop and Pearce’s proposal to take over public lands for drilling is out of touch with American voters, including individuals that hunt, fish, and recreate on our public lands:

• A recent poll found that sportsmen prioritize protecting public lands above energy production. Given a choice between protecting America’s public lands and prioritizing the production of oil, gas and coal, 49 percent want to protect public lands and just 35 percent choose fossil fuel production.
• Another post-election Zogby poll found that independent voters favor wind and solar over fossil fuels by a 4-to-1 margin: 48 percent pick renewable energy while only 11 percent prioritize more oil and gas drilling on America’s public lands.

Tackling our budget is a serious issue — but it shouldn’t lead to the destruction and disappearance of our public lands. Congress should work together to protect programs that safeguard our air, water, and wildlife while finding a balanced approach to the deficit.

Do your part—ask your Members of Congress to preserve funding for our public lands and wildlife conservation programs.

What was completely lost in the discussion is that increasing oil drilling in the United States will not bring down prices at the pump, and, since oil prices are set on the world market, more drilling here at home will do little to reduce gas prices.  In fact, an Associated Press analysis of 36 years of Energy Information Administration data shows “no statistical correlation” between domestic oil production and gas prices.  In short, we just can’t drill our way to cheaper gasoline.  Increasing vehicle efficiency is a far better solution to decrease our dependency on oil and gas.

I catch a breather near Gunsight Pass in Glacier National Park

Also missing from all the finger-pointing over gas prices was any recognition of the fact that the explosion of drilling in this country over recent decades has had a profound impact on water resources, air quality, and fish and wildlife habitat.  These vital resources suffer because of the direct cumulative impacts of the drilling process but also because burning fossil fuels is warming our planet and causing global climate change, which carry devastating consequences for decades to come.

We have yet to see enough detail in the debates, from either candidate, as to how they plan to protect wildlife, wild landscapes and recreational opportunities even as oil and gas permitting increases.  Governor Romney’s energy plan proposes opening new, sensitive offshore areas for drilling, fast-tracking the Keystone XL pipeline, undermining environmental review, and turning over control of federal public lands to states for the purposes of energy development.  However, nowhere in Governor Romney’s plan does it even mention the importance of the conservation of  fish and wildlife, and we have yet to hear a commitment from the campaign to protect the water we drink and their air we breathe from more drilling.