For Immediate Release
April 17, 2003

LARAMIE – A coalition of conservation groups today unveiled a proactive vision for the management of over 3.5 million acres of public lands in the Great Divide region of southeast Wyoming. The area includes the eastern half of the fabled Red Desert, and is rich in wildlife, history, and recreation opportunities. These lands are managed by the Rawlins Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is preparing a new long-term management plan that is on the Bush Administration’s ‘fast track’ list for oil and gas drilling.

Known as the ‘Western Heritage Alternative,’ the coalition’s proposal would preserve some of what makes Wyoming the special place that it is and should remain. Wide open spaces, clean air, clean water, herds of migrating pronghorn and elk, pioneer trails, and Native American sacred sites are all part of the heritage of this state that would receive protection under this alternative. The Western Heritage Alternative asks the BLM to safeguard these Wyoming values for both present and future generations. The 145-page alternative draws heavily upon scientific knowledge, and is supported by over 500 relevant studies.

"This alternative is a totally new, proactive approach to managing our public lands," said Erik Molvar of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. "It protects the wildlands and wildlife that are so important to the public, and ensures that the oil and gas industry will do business in a way that is most compatible with all of the other multiple uses of these lands."

"This proposal recognizes that energy fuel production is an important component of Wyoming’s economy, but there is no need to put a drill pad on every acre of public land," said Kate Zimmerman of National Wildlife Federation. "Wyoming’s natural legacy should not be reduced to a maze of derricks, roads, pipelines, and power lines."

The Western Heritage Alternative would set aside some of the most sensitive lands as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, and require "No Surface Occupancy" oil and gas development to keep surface disturbances away important habitats like sage grouse leks used for drumming, important big game calving areas and winter ranges, raptor nests, and large prairie dog colonies.

"The big game populations of the Great Divide are a treasure of national significance. They are an integral part of Wyoming’s rich wildlife heritage, and the revenue they generate through hunting and wildlife viewing puts millions of dollars into the Wyoming economy," said Larry Baesler of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. "As sportsmen, we must protect our wildlife and the unique wild places in which they are found in order to ensure our hunting heritage for the generations to come."

The Great Divide area also includes important scenic landscapes and wilderness lands like the Pedro Mountains, Ferris Dunes, the Powder Rim, the canyons of Wild Cow Creek, and the spectacular badlands of Adobe Town.

"Adobe Town is the crown jewel of Wyoming’s high desert wilderness," said Molvar. "This area, along with the other remaining wilderness-quality lands of the Great Divide, must never become just another oilfield."

The Western Heritage Alternative would promote staged development of oil and gas fields, where the pace of new development could not outstrip the reclamation of lands damaged in the past. In addition, new developments would feature clustered directional wells that require a small fraction of the roads, drilling pads, and pipelines that cause fragmentation of sagebrush habitats.

"The oil and gas industry has been getting a blank check to carve up our public lands, to lease almost every acre, and to drill at a much faster pace than any time in history." said Kelly Matheson of Wyoming Outdoor Council. "The Western Heritage Alternative provides a much-needed balance to ensure that energy development is compatible with the public mandate to protect other important natural values."

"This Alternative for management of the Great Divide is about finding a reasonable balance among the competing uses of the public lands in Wyoming. We need to make sure that these wide open landscapes and spectacular wildlife values cherished by the people of Wyoming and by others are not lost forever to a spasm of boom and bust development," said Zimmerman. "Wyoming deserves well-managed, tiered development of its energy resources in order to secure both its economic and environmental future," she added."

A complete copy of the Western Heritage Alternative.