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

Thursday, May 12, 2016
WildEarth Guardians Joins in Protest of Federal Fracking Auction in Colorado

In “Break Free from Fossil Fuels” Protest, Colorado Tells President Obama to “Keep it in the Ground”
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663 jnichols@wildearthguardians.org

Additional Contacts:

Jason Schwartz/Greenpeace/347.452.3752
Virali Modi-Parekh/Rainforest Action Network 510.747.8476

DENVER – WildEarth Guardians willbe joining hundreds of community, climate, and fracking activists today inprotesting a U.S. Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction at theHoliday Inn in Lakewood, Colorado.

Roughly 300 activists fromColorado and surrounding states plan to rally outside the hotel, carryingsigns, banners, art, and singing chants, and engage in peaceful direct actionto interrupt the auction proceedings.

“The Obama Administration isn’tjust auctioning off our public lands for fracking, it’s auctioning off ourclimate and our future,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate andEnergy Program Director. “Right now,right here in Colorado, it’s time to keep our oil and gas in the ground andtransition our state and the western U.S. away from fossil fuels.”

The protest was organized by acoalition of groups led by local Colorado activists. It was part of the larger“Keep it in the Ground,” movement, which is calling on President Obama to haltnew federal fossil fuel leases on public lands and waters, a move that couldkeep half of American fossil fuel reserves from being burned, and protect theseprecious resources for generations to come. Activists from all across thecountry attended today’s action, showing solidarity with local activists anddrawing attention to a rising public lands movement in Western states that hasbeen challenging BLM auctions for the last six months.

“Colorado and the public lands ofthe West are being treated as a sacrifice zone, with corporations profiting fromthe destruction of our communities, the landscape, and the people’s health,”said Remy, a Boulder-based artist and activist with First Seven Design Labs.“As an indigenous person, the language behind keep it in the ground has beenpassed down to me from my elders. It’s about respecting the land and the earth,and it’s about justice for people who are being denied it.”

Colorado’s public and privatelands have been pockmarked by oil and gas wells in recent years. The state hasalso seen firsthand many of the devastating impacts of climate change,including massive flooding and extended, more intense fire seasons. The actioncomes just days after the Colorado Supreme Court denied community authority toregulate fracking.

“When our political systems failus, direct action is one of the few tools we have left,” said Colorado activistand Greenpeace campaigner Diana Best. “People here are finished with industryand government making us sick, polluting our communities, and destroying theland we love. Today you can see that the resistance in Colorado is powerful anda key part of the escalating national fight.”

Nearly 7,000 acres of public lands are on theauction block today, including lands in the HDMountains outside of Durango and in the high desert of northwestern Colorado.In March, WildEarth Guardians fileda formal appeal calling on the Bureau ofLand Management to reject the leasing. The agency has yet to respond.

The coalition today, made up oflocal groups including CREED, FrackFree Colorado, Colorado 350, Colorado RisingTide, and many others, and supported by national groups including Greenpeace,Rainforest Action Network, Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarthGuardians, and 350.org wasbrought together as part of the Break Free global month of action.