WildEarth Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Western Environmental Law Center this week pushed back fiercely against the Trump Administration’s plans to open up nearly 100% of the Greater Carlsbad Caverns region for fracking.
In a nearly 150 page comment letter, we challenged the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s proposed “Resource Management Plan” for the Carlsbad Field Office, which encompasses Carlsbad Caverns National Park and other important public lands in southeast New Mexico.
You’ll remember this is the oil and gas plan that could open the door for as much carbon pollution as 22 coal-fired power plants. Worse, it would sacrifice the region’s clean air and water, caves, wildlife, and other natural values to the oil and gas industry.
The Bureau of Land Management, headed by U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, has made no bones about their intent to sacrifice all public lands and resources in southeast New Mexico to the oil and gas industry.
In our comments on the Administration’s latest plan to pull out all the stops for the oil and gas industry, we took aim at the Bureau of Land Management’s failure to address the climate, water, air, wildlife, and other impacts of fracking on public lands in the region.
Most importantly, we called out the agency for failing to consider an alternative to end all oil and gas fracking in the Greater Carlsbad Caverns region.
Here’s a rundown of our key criticisms and demands:
– From WildEarth Guardians and Others’ Comments on Carlsbad Field Office Draft Resource Management Plan
The Greater Carlsbad Caverns region is a public lands gem. Although the Trump Administration wants to sacrifice it for fracking, we’re stepping up our efforts to ensure that fossil fuels are kept in the ground.
Stay tuned for more!
