A group of conservative sportsmen and anglers yesterday criticized the Bush-Cheney energy bill for trying to open up Western public lands to more oil and gas exploration.
They expressed concern that the Bush Administration's energy policies and the energy bill pending in Congress threaten prime fish and wildlife habitat on public lands in the Rocky Mountain West. The group, which held a press conference in Washington, included representatives from Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Rocky Mountain Front and several Western businesspeople.
Trout Unlimited also released a report showing the likely harm to fish and wildlife and on fishing and hunting opportunities that could result from energy development in the region; 64 percent of the group's members are Republicans.
"I have long believed that there should be a new 'conservative wing' that embraces most of the Republican platform but that also places a strong value on wilderness, unspoiled land and wildlife," said Ryan Busse, vice president of Montana firearms manufacturer Kimber Manufacturing Inc. "I know these people exist, because I work with them every day: presidents of companies and high-level executives who love to hunt, fish, hike and have wilderness experiences and yet all are ardent conservatives."
The group also visited congressional leaders to request that the most harmful provisions of the energy bill, which would eliminate or weaken protections for wildlife and fish on millions of Western acres, are fixed or removed.
Many anglers and hunters throughout the Western U.S. are deeply concerned that efforts to speed energy development on public lands are coming at the expense of protections for fish, wildlife and scarce water resources, speakers said.
"I consider myself conservative, but am worried about and opposed to the Bush Administration's invasion of our last remaining roadless lands," said Stoney Burk, an attorney, businessman, avid hunter and angler from Choteau, Mont. "We need an energy policy with more emphasis on clean, non-extractive, renewable energy."
Figures detailed in the Trout Unlimited gas and oil report show that 9 million people spend more than $5 billion each year to hunt, fish or otherwise enjoy the abundant wildlife and fish within the five Rocky Mountain states of Montana, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. [1]
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SOURCES:
[1] "Gas and Oil Development on Western Public Lands," Trout Unlimited.
