February 24, 2009

ACTION ALERT!

Take Action to Protect the Future of Wyoming's Very Rare
or Uncommon Areas

Haystacks Summer Moon, Adobe Town, Red Desert, Very Rare or Uncommon Area, Erik Molvar

The Wyoming Senate Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee passed a bill (House Bill 262) 3 ayes and 2 nays, that would take the authority to designate very rare or uncommon areas
statewide in Wyoming away from the state Environmental Quality Council (EQC) and allow only the legislature to designate these areas for protection.

The bill is on its way to the Senate floor for debate and hopefully will be a low priority for the Senate to address due to the more pressing issues the legislature has to tend to.

We urge our members and partners to voice their opinions against this bill. Please email, phone, or fax your comments to your local Senator by February 25, 2009. We need to protect the future of very rare or uncommon areas in Wyoming, and the passage of this bill would throw up added road blocks to protection.

You can access all Wyoming Senator profiles on the legislature web link below:

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LegislatorSummary/LegislatorList.aspx?strHouse=S&strStatus=N

A general fax number for the legislature is 307-777-5466. Attn: Sen. (Name)

Some talking points to hit would be:

• The Very Rare or Uncommon (VRU) designation process works just fine. The Environmental Quality Council does an admirable job of conducting a fair and balanced process, and its decisions have been well-supported under the law.
• The fact that nobody has offered legal challenges to the recent VRU designations speaks to the fact that the Environmental Quality Council's judgement has been sound.
• If the Environmental Quality Council is going to be the body holding the hearings and getting all of the information, why should the legislature be making the decision? Wouldn't the legislature need to hear the same testimony all over again, creating needless bureaucracy and expense to the state government?
• The oil and gas industry is just being a sore loser regarding Adobe Town. If industry had their way, the state would never designate a single Very Rare or Uncommon area anywhere in the state, regardless of how rare or sensitive its resources.
• There is no need to create added expense of additional review by the legislature when the Environmental Quality Council is already doing a good job.

For more information contact: Wayne Prindle, BCA, 307-742-7978, wayne@voiceforthewild.org

THANKS FOR TAKING ACTION NOW TO PROTECT THE FUTURE OF WYOMING'S VERY RARE OR UNCOMMON AREAS!