NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2007

BLM Pulls Leases in Crucial Wildlife Habitats

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LARAMIE – Biodiversity Conservation Alliance (BCA) and other conservation groups filed separate protests with the Bureau of Land Management State Director last week, asking the agency to withdraw certain lease parcels from the bi-monthly sale of leases for oil and gas drilling.  The protests were based in part on the inclusion of parcels in the sale which are in big game crucial winter range and migration corridors.  Located in the Upper Green River Valley, these parcels are critical for the survival of big game species, such as mule deer, pronghorn and elk, in this area.  Recent scientific studies show that populations of big game are declining sharply and that current lease stipulations are not adequate to protect big game species.

In response to the public pressure, BLM pulled 8 of the protested parcels from the February 6, 2007 lease sale.  "BLM has recently recognized the importance of big game winter range and migration routes in various environmental analyses it has conducted, and we are glad the agency is starting to take notice of these critical wildlife areas," said Suzanne Lewis, conservation advocate for Laramie-based BCA.  "It was an important first step for BLM to remove these parcels from the upcoming sale until it can conduct further analysis," Lewis stated.  The BLM Pinedale Field Office, which has management authority for the protested parcels, has been actively working on how to protect the crucial Trappers Point Bottleneck portion of one particularly constricted migration route.

The Jackson Hole Pronghorn Study and Sublette Mule Deer Study, conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Western EcoSystems Technologies, Inc., respectively, and which were sponsored by BLM, both document dramatically plummeting populations of these species and the importance of protecting big game winter habitat and migration routes. The Pronghorn study is available upon request; the Sublette Mule Deer studies are available on the web at http://www.west-inc.com/reports/big_game/Sawyer%20et%20al%202006.pdf and http://www.west-inc.com/reports/big_game/PAPA_deer_report_2006.pdf.