CRAIG, Colo. – By deferring an oil and gas lease in northwest Colorado that could have jeopardized native trout, the Bureau of Land Management has signaled a new day for energy development in sensitive fish and wildlife habitats, a sportsmen’s coalition announced today.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development was troubled by oil and gas development proposed for the 900-acre parcel due to its potential impacts on two populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout, a species of special concern in Colorado. The public land in the proposal, located 25 miles northeast of Craig, encompasses Cataract Creek and the Roaring Fork of Slater Creek. It was originally reviewed for leasing in 1991.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development is a coalition of more than 500 businesses, organizations and individuals dedicated to conserving irreplaceable habitats so future generations can hunt and fish on public lands. The coalition is led by the National Wildlife Federation, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Trout Unlimited.

In the 18 years since the lease was proposed, much has been learned about balancing fish and wildlife habitat with energy development, but the decision to lease this parcel has not been updated. However, the BLM is revising its resource management plan for the area, and the sportsmen’s coalition expects the agency to establish measures to protect the fish.

“Deferring this lease was the right decision,” said Steve Belinda, energy policy manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Considering that the BLM is revising its Little Snake Resource Management Plan, which governs administration of the area’s natural resources, waiting to proceed with leasing these lands makes a lot of sense.”

The BLM’s action in Colorado has precedent elsewhere and indicates a revised approach by the agency in evaluating proposed energy leases on federally managed public land. In a special report issued earlier this month, the BLM identified similar cases of inappropriate decisions to lease land for development after reviewing 77 leases in Utah that were withdrawn.

“This lease was a victim of a broken process that’s in dire need of repair,” said John Gale, Colorado regional representative for the National Wildlife Federation.

“Secretary Salazar has recognized that a more balanced process is needed,” Gale added, “and the sportsmen of the West stand ready to help the BLM develop a process that works for fish and wildlife, sportsmen and for industry.”

“It made no sense to sell this lease now when old, outdated policies would have conflicted with a new direction in resource management,” said Corey Fisher, energy field coordinator for Trout Unlimited.

“By deferring this lease, the BLM is signaling that it is going to stop leaping before it looks,” said Fisher. “Sportsmen welcome this change and appreciate the BLM thoroughly reviewing this lease to make sure that multi-state and multi-agency efforts to conserve Colorado River cutthroat trout are not compromised.”

For more information about the SFRED coalition, visit www.sportsmen4responsibleenergy.org.

Chef Todd Gray

Together with a diverse coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, commercial fishermen, anglers, hunters, lodge owners, outfitters, guides and Alaska Native leaders, Trout Unlimited has designated October as Alaska Wild Salmon Month to shine a spotlight on Alaska’s Bristol Bay wild salmon and the risks they face from the proposed Pebble mine, the world’s largest open-pit gold and copper mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska.

As part of Alaska Wild Salmon Month, a number of prominent D.C.-area restaurants will feature Bristol Bay salmon on their menus throughout October, including Equinox, owned by culinary leader, Chef Todd Gray. Rated among the top restaurants in Washington, D.C., Equinox won the 2008 Restaurant Association Award for Best Fine Dining.

“Bristol Bay sockeye salmon is truly superb. With wild salmon runs increasingly rare the world over,  this outstanding fish deserves full-scale protection from proposed mining in Bristol Bay, one of the largest and most productive salmon spawning areas left on the planet. I’m honored to promote awareness of this wild salmon and the threat it faces,” Gray said.

During the week of Oct. 19-23, Trout Unlimited will host several Bristol Bay wild salmon events in Washington, D.C. to celebrate Alaska Wild Salmon Month. These include meetings on Capitol Hill by a delegation of concerned Alaskans, a Bristol Bay wild salmon reception at the historic Stewart R. Mott House, and a screening of the award-winning documentary about Bristol Bay, Red Gold, followed by a panel discussion with Alaska Natives, policy makers and others at National Geographic headquarters.  Learn more at www.savebristolbay.org

Todd is a wonderful chef that provides an outstanding dining experience! My wife Amy and I LOVE to eat at Equinox.

I would like to see if Barton Seaver is involved in this conservation effort. Barton is a vibrant young and upcoming chef that preaches the sustainability mantra with serious conviction!

This is should be another “light bulb” for all of us who enjoy the outdoors!  It doesn’t matter if hunt, fish, view wildlife, take walk-about or the like. The commonality that we all enjoy is Mother Nature and if we cannot team up together, some the great places may not be available to our grandchildren.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development coalition, TU released a new report titled “Hunting and Fishing Imperiled.” Profiled in the report are endangered habitats like Colorado’s Roan Plateau and the Horse Creek/Rye Grass Rim country of western Wyoming, where native trout still swim and prospective oil and gas drilling threatens irreplaceable habitat. You can check out the report from SFRED and see for yourself the Western landscapes that qualify as the most endangered.

A delegation of Alaska Native leaders from Bristol Bay flew to London in April to confront Anglo American executives and shareholders face-to-face with their concerns about the company’s massive Pebble mine project in southwest Alaska. The Alaska delegates told leaders of the London-based company, one of the world’s largest mining conglomerates that they have failed so far to grasp the depth and breadth of opposition to Pebble.

Trout Unlimited’s Alaska Program helped to organize and sponsor the trip.

Read the full article here.

Prominent West Coast chefs are supporting Trout Unlimited Alaska’s “Vote with Your Fork” campaign. The goal is to raise awareness among food lovers about the value of Bristol Bay wild salmon and the threats they face from the large-scale hard rock mining in the Bristol Bay watershed.

High-profile chef Alice Waters of Berkley, Calif.’s Chez Panisse restaurant has become an outspoken advocate for preserving Bristol Bay salmon from the risks of mining.

 “It’s our moral obligation to protect these fish and that means supporting this sustainable fishery by choosing Bristol Bay salmon,” said Johnson. “If we allow this Pebble mine to go in, the same thing that happened to us down here in California is going to happen in Alaska. The salmon won’t survive.”

A group of Seattle chefs has also recently weighed in. The board of Seattle Chefs Collaborative, a non-profit that works with chefs and others to foster a sustainable food supply, recently voted unanimously to support the efforts of Trout Unlimited to protect Bristol Bay’s salmon.

There are some great organizations that are fighting for the preservation of Bristol Bay. One would be the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska, directed by Scott Hed.

I would like to see if Barton Seaver weighs in on this! Barton is a vibrant young chef that preaches the sustainability mantra with conviction!

Read the full article here.