Trout Unlimited applauds Forest Service efforts on Wyoming Range
Sportsmen encouraged to support Alternative 1 of the DEIS for no leasing on 30 parcels
For immediate release: April 7, 2016
Contacts:
Shane Cross, Western Energy counsel for Trout Unlimited, 307-359-3080, scross@tu.org
Cathy Purves, Foundation & Science Coordinator, Sportsmen’s Conservation Project, 307-349-2558, cpurves@tu.org
Brett Prettyman, Intermountain Region Communications Director, 801-209-5320, bprettyman@tu.org
Sportsmen are buoyed by the Bridger-Teton National Forests release of a sensible and permanent resolution for existing oil and gas leases on one of the Wests iconic landscapes.
Today the Bridger-Teton National Forest released a long-awaited Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Wyoming Range Oil and Gas Leases. The DEIS is the first step toward closing a years-long effort to protect some of the richest fish and wildlife habitat and hunting and angling opportunities anywhere in the world.
We are excited to move one step closer to completing this analysis. Now, we expect a large battle cry from sportsmen and women in support of Alternative 1 to ensure the Wyoming Range is permanently protected, said Shane Cross, Western Energy Counsel for Trout Unlimited.
Sportsmen have sought permanent protection of the Wyoming Range for more than a decade in an effort that culminated in the passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act in 2009 federal legislation that declared 1.2 million acres of national forest land off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
The DEIS addresses 39,400 acres and 30 lease parcels, which had been under consideration for leasing, but not developed. TU is appreciative of the Bridger-Teton National Forest for identifying no leasing as the preferred alternative.
The Forest Service listened to the people, weighed the science benefits and the resource impacts and made the right decision, said TUs Tom Reed, a regional director who worked on the Wyoming Range campaign from the start. Energy means a lot to Wyoming, but so do the places we hunt and fish. The Wyoming Range is a place worth protecting.
Trout Unlimited is the nations oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, boasting more than 155,000 members from coast to coast. TU works to protect and restore trout and salmon populations and their habitat so future generations can fish for trout and salmon in their home waters. Follow TU on Facebook and Twitter, and on the TU blog.