Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Author Terry Tempest Williams Buys Parcels at Public Lands Fracking Auction in Protest

Large-Scale Protest and Activism by Prominent Author Ups the Ante on “Keep it in the Ground” Activism
Contact: Tim Ream (541) 531-8541 tream@wildearthguardians.org

Additional Contacts:

ValerieLove, vlove@biologicaldiversity.org, 510-274-9713
AmandaStarbuck, astarbuck@ran.org, (415) 659-0510
JasonKowalski, jason@350.org, 202.670.5345
MarissaKnodel, mknodel@foe.org, (202) 222-0729
HilaryLewis, hlewis@earthworksaction.org, 202-887-1872 x. 101
LesleyAdams, ladams@waterkeeper.org, 541-821-3882
ShelleySilbert, shelley@greatoldbroads.org, 970-385-9577

Thismorning, over 100 local activists protested at a Bureau of Land Management(BLM) oil and gas lease auction in Utah and author and activist Terry TempestWilliams attended and purchased several parcels totaling 1,751 acres in GrandCounty, Utah through a company she formed called Tempest Exploration. The groupof activists, representing a broad-reaching alliance of community members,packed and overflowed the auction room. They rallied and marched outside, andthen came into the auction, spontaneously singing songs as the parcels wereauctioned off until they were forced to leave.

AfterWilliams bought up parcels at $1.50/acre, she was asked by a BLM official ifthis was “a legitimate bid for energy development.”

“Yes,”she replied. “You can’t define whatenergy is for us. Our energy development is fueling a movement. Keepit in the ground.”

Today’sprotest and Williams’ actions are yet another sign of the growing energy andmomentum of the “Keep It in the Ground” movement calling on President Obama todefine his climate legacy by stopping new fossil fuel leases on public landsand oceans.

Inrecent months, local citizens and activists in Utah and in states across thecountry have protested outside BLM fossil fuel auctions. Since November, inresponse to protests, the Obama Administration has canceled oil and gas leasingauctions in Utah, Montana, and Washington, DC, and this strategy has alreadygained the attention of leaders in Congress, inthe Obama Administration,and on the 2016 campaign trail.

“Theprotests of today’s auction are another sign that the days of un-resistedfossil fuel development are over,” said Tim DeChristopher,who was arrested and imprisoned for 21months for disrupting a BLM auction in 2008.“The public is clearly against the leasing of fossil fuels on public lands, andthey are charting a path for political leaders to follow.”

“Thisis our climate, our public lands, and our future at stake,” said Tim Ream, Climate and Energy CampaignDirector for WildEarth Guardians. “As Terry Tempest Williams and more than100 others powerfully voiced today, we’re not going to take it anymore. It’stime for the Obama Administration to get serious about keeping our fossil fuelsin the ground.”

“TerryTempest Williams is one of the West’s most passionate and eloquent voices forwildness and the sublime importance of unspoiled open spaces,” said Amanda Starbuck, Climate and Energy ProgramDirector at Rainforest Action Network.“Today, she has taken a powerful stand for all of us by helping to expose thebroken and outdated system of leasing our public lands to dirty energycompanies for pennies on the dollar. Rainforest Action Network offers our fullsupport to Terry’s bold call to keep fossil fuels in the ground in Utah andbeyond.”

“TheWest—and the planet—have no greater champion than Terry Tempest Williams, inher writing, and as today, in her many actions. She’s been decades ahead of therest of us in her fight for a stable Earth,” said BillMcKibben, 350.org Co-Founder.

“Citizensare our last line of defense against the fossil fuel industry. We salute TerryTempest Williams for protecting public lands in Utah today, and the citizens ofUtah who are speaking out for our health and climate,” said Jennifer Krill, executive director ofEarthworks. “President Obama, theyare sending a message to you: keep fossil fuels in the ground.”

“Allof us at Friends of the Earth commend Terry Tempest Williams for her braveaction to protect our public lands from Fossil Fuel Empires and keep fossilfuels in the ground,” said Marissa Knodel, Climate Campaigner withFriends of the Earth. “The lands beingauctioned today belong to all of us and should not be sacrificed for theprofits of the oil and gas industry. Williams and the over 100 activists whoprotested today’s oil and gas auction demonstrated the growing energy of theKeep It in the Ground movement in Utah and across the country. Themovement will not stop until our publicly owned fossil fuels are kept in theground for good.”

“Asone of the activists removed from Tuesday’s auction,I applaud Terry Tempest Williams’ action to buy up lease parcels,” said Valerie Love of the Center for BiologicalDiversity. “We have a right tobear witness as the federal government auctions off our climate future byleasing public lands and fossil fuels belonging to all of us. We will continueto rally, sing and protest until President Obama halts these auctions once andfor all.”

“Todaywe saw people spontaneously seize power and take action together. The BLM canexpect more of this as long as they continue to jeopardize our future byauctioning off our health and climate stability,” said Sarah Stock of Canyon Country Rising Tide.

“Todayour local community flexed our power through spontaneous singing and connectedto a global resistance against fossil fuels. Like the rivers we protect,this movement will continue to connect our struggles until we are able to fullyrecognize how very powerful people are compared to this industry bent ondestroying us,” said Lauren Wood, with the RiverkeeperAffiliate, Living Rivers.

“Todaywe witnessed a groundswell of solidarity from a broad spectrum of localorganizers coming together to fight for a livable future. Today we alsowitnessed thousands of acres of land being sold to the oil and gas industrywithout the consent of the public. Sometimes we have to stop and name thesorrows, trace them to their root. The Women’s Congress for Future Generationscalls on those fighting for a livable future to join us in visiting the land,to bear witness, to grieve. Our grief will serve as a compass for the hard,important work ahead to Keep It In The Ground,” said Kaitlin Butler, Program Director withScience and Environmental Health Network and Women’s Congress for FutureGenerations.

“Today’sheroic action by Ms. Williams effectively transformed a public process designedto enrich private corporations by giving them cheap access to public resourcesinto one that inspires grassroots action on climate,” said Donna Lisenby, Clean & Safe EnergyCampaign Manager with Waterkeeper Alliance.“Waterkeeper Alliance salutes Ms. Williams and all of the activists at thefossil fuel auction in Utah today. Together we will continue to pressure theObama administration to make good on the U.S. Paris commitments by keeping U.S.fossil fuels in the ground.”

“Wecannot continue selling our children and grandchildren’s future to the fossilfuel companies. We stand with Terry Tempest Williams in protest of new energylease sales on public lands,” saidShelley Silbert,Executive Director of Great Old Broads for Wilderness. “Our Utah Greater Wasatch chapter joined in unison with Terrytoday to say ‘Keep it in the Ground’ – public lands need to be the solution toclimate change, not the problem.”

Images from today’s protest are available for media use.