Federal auction sells leasing rights on thousands of acres of prime sage-grouse habitat
Source: Washington Post
Kathy Love 3 hrs ago
© David Zalubowski/AP A federal auction of oil and gas leases on hundreds of thousands of acres in Wyoming includes land considered critical for sage grouse, which has been in sharp decline in recent years.
Leasing rights on western lands with some of the world’s highest densities of sage grouse were sold this week to energy developers for as little as $2 an acre — the result of a recent Trump administration directive to roll back Obama-era protections for the iconic bird.
Thirty-one parcels in Wyoming containing 57,800 acres of prime sage-grouse habitat are among those being auctioned online by the federal Bureau of Land Management. Conservationists call the area the “golden triangle” because of its importance for the species, which has suffered a sharp decline in the past 15 years as oil and gas extraction expanded rapidly in the grouse’s historic range.
The administration and the energy industry say federal and state restrictions on well densities and surface construction are adequate to maintain the bird populations.
But conservationists sharply disagree. Brian Rutledge, vice president of the National Audubon Society, contends the birds are at “tremendous risk” because of the leases. “I can tell you with certainty that the Wyoming parcels auctioned this week were the most important habitat of all,” he said.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/federal-auction-sells-leasing-rights-on-thousands-of-acres-of-prime-sage-grouse-habitat/ar-BBUgKQe?li=BBnb7Kz
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To say that this is an outrageously irresponsible, short-sighted, and evil act cannot even begin to describe the true depths of their depravity and greed.
I hope there is something left of this country to rescue by the time we can finally oust these criminals and vandals
