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Western Energy Alliance believes in the principle of multiple use of non-park, non-wilderness public lands. Our public lands advocacy over many years has consistently stressed the importance of a balance on federal lands among productive uses of public lands like oil, natural gas, timber and mining with recreation, wildlife protection, and conservation.
Fortunately, oil and natural gas development offers a solution for balancing productive uses of public lands with conservation. Oil and natural gas already provides 100% of the funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation on public lands, but more can be done to support our national parks. The Alliance strongly supports the Restore Our Parks bill, which would direct over $1 billion every year from revenues generated by the industry on public lands into national park maintenance and repair. As the trade association that represents a region where a majority of the lands are federal, we’re the recognized leader in the industry for public lands issues. Western Energy Alliance actively engages in the land use planning process for all major producing basins. Land use planning is a multi-year process that local, state and federal officials, the public, industries, conservation groups, and other stakeholders engage in to help determine which lands are open to oil and natural gas development and other productive uses, and which lands are set aside for conservation. Finalized plans guide the agencies as they hold lease sales and grant permits for oil and natural gas activities. We’re also actively engaged in court defending federal leasing on appropriately designated public lands. We’re currently involved in five different lawsuits supporting federal leasing. We’re also engaged in court over federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing and methane emissions on public lands. |
Related Content- Myth v. Reality: Federal Onshore Oil and Natural Gas Leasing
- BLM Planning and NEPA - Federal Land Policy and Management Act - Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960 |
Comments
Below are comments submitted by the Alliance on Resource Management Plans (RMP), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other Interior Department and Forest Service rules and issues:
Below are comments submitted by the Alliance on Resource Management Plans (RMP), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other Interior Department and Forest Service rules and issues:
| 4/14/2021 - Department of the Interior Review of the Federal Oil and Natural Gas Program |
| 11/30/2020 - Office of Natural Resources Revenue Valuation Reform and Civil Penalty Rule |
| 11/2/2020 - U.S. Forest Service Oil and Gas Resources |
| 9/25/2020 - Farmington Draft RMP Amendment |
| 8/28/2020 - North Dakota RMP Scoping with NDPC and DEPA |
| 3/10/2020 - Council on Environmental Quality Draft NEPA Regulations |
| 8/26/2019 - Council on Environmental Quality Draft NEPA Guidance |
| 8/26/2019 - USFS National Environmental Policy Act Regulations |
| 6/10/2019 - Bakersfield Draft SEIS for Hydraulic Fracturing |
| 9/20/2019 - Eastern Colorado Draft RMP |
