Coalition pushes Interior Department to act quickly to implement the reforms outlined in its report

CONTACT: Abby Grehlinger, abby@team-arc.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, leading national and western-based environmental and conservation groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Western Priorities, Earthjustice, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, Western Organization of Resource Councils, and the National Parks Conservation Association, announced the formation of the Coalition for Oil and Gas Reform with the launch of a microsite and digital ads in Washington, D.C. 

Representing millions of people across the country, the groups have come together to support the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) proposed reforms to bring the broken and antiquated federal oil and gas program into the 21st century so the nation’s public lands can better serve everyone–– not just the oil and gas industry. While most of these important reforms can be implemented through administrative action, Congress must also do its part.  

The coalition released the following statement on its goals to push DOI to finalize long-overdue reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program:

“Frontline communities, public lands, taxpayers, and wildlife deserve better than the status quo. The Department of the Interior’s recommendations on how to reform the outdated federal oil and gas program must be followed by immediate action. With oil and gas lease sales on more than 700,000 acres of public lands on the horizon, reforms have never been more important– we need both the Biden administration and Congress to act now. We won’t rest until the program is brought into the 21st century and taxpayers, public lands, and wildlife are prioritized over the oil and gas industry.Too much is at risk for us to remain silent.”   

The Interior Department should reform the oil and gas program by:

  • Ensuring that public lands are managed to benefit all uses, including fish and wildlife conservation, outdoor recreation, and renewable energy development, not just oil and gas development;
  • Modernizing the century-old royalty rates that oil and gas companies pay for resources they extract from public lands to ensure communities, whose taxes fund public lands, get their fair share;
  • Requiring oil and gas companies to clean up after themselves, instead of sticking taxpayers with the bill;
  • Stopping speculative leasing where there is little or no potential for oil and gas development; and
  • Ensuring that Tribal Nations and the public are given equitable opportunities to weigh in regarding if and where oil and gas development happens on public lands.

The coalition will continue to educate the public about the benefits of oil and gas reform for frontline communities, taxpayers, wildlife, and the environment. During key moments over the next several months, including the announcement of oil and gas lease sales and following any administrative or Congressional action, the coalition will mobilize its members to urge the administration and Congress to finalize these urgently needed and common-sense reforms. 

The following groups make up the Coalition for Oil and Gas Reform: 

  • California Environmental Voters
  • Center for Western Priorities 
  • Colorado Wildlife Federation
  • Conservation Colorado
  • Dakota Resource Council
  • Earthjustice
  • Florida Conservation Voters
  • Grand Canyon Trust
  • Greenlatinos 
  • Hispanic Access Fund
  • League of Conservation Voters
  • Montana Conservation Voters 
  • Montana Wildlife Federation
  • National Parks Conservation Association
  • National Wildlife Federation
  • Nevada Wildlife Federation
  • New Mexico Wildlife Federation
  • Natural Resources Defense Council 
  • Rocky Mountain Wild
  • The Wilderness Society Action Fund
  • Wild Montana 
  • Wilderness Workshop 
  • Western Organization of Resource Councils  

Learn more about our efforts at: OilAndGasReformNow.org

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California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.

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The month of March is Public Lands Month, and we’ve got some big goals. We’re pushing for 5 national monument designations while fighting for clean water, Indigenous land protection, ecosystem conservation, and increasing access to nature. 

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