TRCP Commends Conservation Measures

July 28, 2010

News for Immediate Release
July 14, 2010
Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org

TRCP Commends Conservation Measures
in Renewable Energy Bill

Specific language would help sustain fish and wildlife, mitigate development impacts
and expand access for sportsmen

WASHINGTON – Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday stipulates planning and development practices for wind and solar energy projects on federal public lands and should facilitate the conservation of fish and wildlife resources and enhance sportsmen’s access, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today.

The Clean Energy, Community Investment and Wildlife Conservation Act, introduced in the Senate by Harry Reid (D-NV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) and the House by Dean Heller (R-NV), would enact specific policies for renewable energy projects on public lands, including establishing a competitive leasing program, funding for fish and wildlife mitigation and best-management practices to ensure the responsible development of these resources. Sportsmen, who have been vocal in their support of federal energy projects that ensure multiple uses of public lands and waters, praised measures in the bill that should help safeguard prime habitat prized by hunters and anglers.

“The impacts of oil and gas development on public lands have degraded habitat and recreational opportunities when fish and wildlife were not adequately considered prior to leasing,” said TRCP Director of Policy and Government Relations Tom Franklin. “As renewable energy projects are inevitably increased to meet the nation’s energy needs, measures in this important legislation would promote the careful siting of projects, mitigate unavoidable impacts on fish and wildlife populations and help maintain public-lands access for sportsmen. These are huge issues for hunters and anglers and cornerstones of the TRCP mission.”

The TRCP is actively engaged in promoting a new model for energy development on public lands and waters that secures fish and wildlife populations and hunting and fishing traditions. In particular, the sportsmen’s group has pressed the federal government to engage in more comprehensive upfront planning in valuable habitat before allowing energy development.

The following TRCP partner organizations signed a letter in support of today’s energy bill: the American Fisheries Society, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Berkley Conservation Institute, the North American Grouse Partnership, the Quality Deer Management Association, Trout Unlimited and the Wildlife Management Institute.

“Sportsmen commend our Senate and House leaders for taking decisive action to assure the responsible development of wind and solar energy resources,” Franklin continued, “and we offer our support in promoting practices that bolster domestic energy production while at the same time sustain America’s unique hunting and fishing legacy.”

The TRCP and its partners believe that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife and the CAST principles.