Defenders Denounces Destructive Natural Resources Reconciliation Text

Defenders of Wildlife strongly denounces the House Natural Resources Committee’s text for the upcoming reconciliation bill. This egregious legislation would undermine critical wildlife protections and destroy or degrade large swaths of wildlife habitats through destructive mandates for increased logging and massive oil and gas lease sales on American public land, including portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  

“This bill would be devastating for American wildlife and the habitats they depend on,” said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations at Defenders. “It puts a bullseye on already imperiled polar bears, whales and hundreds of other species that depend on the integrity of federal lands and waters for their survival. Congress shouldn't be handing over these vital and cherished wildlife habitats on public lands to oil and other extractive companies for bigger profits.”

Among other harmful provisions, the proposed text will:

• Circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act by allowing pay-to-play permitting, expediting environmental reviews and barring administrative or judicial review for projects by companies that pay an additional fee.
• Require no fewer than four mandated lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife refuge by not later than 10 years.
• Amend the purpose of the National Petroleum Reserve Production Act to mandate an oil and gas leasing program in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska.
• Increase timber production by requiring annual issuance of 20-year contracts in each region for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
• Require quarterly lease sales of onshore oil and gas in any state with available land, including Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada, and Alaska.  
• Require no fewer than 30 offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico in a 15-year period.
• Require no fewer than six lease sales in Cook Inlet, Alaska over a 10-year period.
• Allow the Secretary of the Interior to waive any requirement under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that the Secretary determines would delay issuance of a lease under a lease sale. 

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