Biden Threatens Conservation Funding Long Term, Amid Camp Hale Designation

• National monuments and other public lands benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act
• The $2.8 billion/year in conservation is funded almost exclusively by oil and natural gas production, yet Biden’s energy policies threaten future conservation dollars
• Proposed Thompson Divide withdrawal ignores balanced oil and natural gas development since the 1940s

 
DENVER – In response to President Biden designating Camp Hale as a national monument, Western Energy Alliance today called on him to end policies threatening future conservation funding. The Denver-based trade association cautioned that programs under the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), which are funded almost exclusively by federal oil and natural gas, are at risk because of his policies and growing mismanagement by federal agencies. The Alliance also stressed the proposed land withdrawal around the Thompson Divide ignores the balanced oil and natural gas development in the area since the 1940s that has protected the land.
 
“Designating more national monuments like Camp Hale adds to the list of protected lands that the federal government struggles to fund and maintain,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. “There is already a $22 billion backlog of conservation and infrastructure projects for protected lands, while costs continue to balloon because of government mismanagement. The bright spot is that GAOA provided secure funding for conservation derived almost exclusively from federal oil and natural gas production. On the other hand, Biden has been intent on eliminating federal oil and natural gas since day one of his presidency. It’s not clear the president is aware that oil and natural gas and conservation are directly linked. An attack on one is an attack on the other. Therefore, the president’s policies have created a double whammy that put the future of Camp Hale and other public lands at risk.” 

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