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Leaked Oil and Gas Industry Memo Similar to Zinke's Grouse Plans

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Friday, August 25, 2017   

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A document obtained by a watchdog group suggests that the U.S. Department of the Interior could be taking orders from the oil and gas industry.

Jayson O'Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project, says his group has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for correspondence between energy industry representatives and staff who worked on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's sage-grouse review.

O'Neill says a memo from the Western Energy Alliance bears a striking resemblance to the federal agency's plan of action.

"Secretary Zinke and the review team took the recommendations of the oil and gas industry, pretty much universally, over other users – which include the hunting community, ranching community, our agricultural communities," O'Neill states.

The leaked memo maintains the current Greater Sage-Grouse Management Plan costs jobs and stunts economic growth.

But O'Neill says removing protections developed by states, federal agencies, scientists and private landowners could put the iconic bird at risk of being listed under the Endangered Species Act. He says that would cause even greater economic disruptions.

The Interior Department did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.

O'Neill says Zinke also has been adding oil-and-gas insiders to key Interior Department positions.

According to his group's profiles of 63 political appointees, most are former lobbyists or have industry connections, and he says only four have experience in conservation.

"And when we're put in a situation where our federal government and our largest land managing agency is controlled by private industry, we lose the opportunity to have input in how our lands – as public land owners – are managed," O'Neill stresses.

He points to a side-by-side comparison of the leaked memo and the Interior Department's recommendations, which O'Neill contends confirms the agency ignored the pleas of several western governors and other stakeholders to maintain the current sage-grouse plan.










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