Take Action: Protect Yellowstone and the Greater Rockies

Protect Yellowstone and the Greater Rockies

Tell the Bush administration to protect the outstanding wildlands of the Rocky Mountain West.

Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, Department of the Interior

Dear Secretary Kempthorne,

(Edit Letter Below)

I urge you to act now to slow the pace of energy development on public lands across the Rocky Mountain West. If you do not take action soon, this region will be forever transformed into a vast industrialized zone, stripped of its iconic wildlife, open spaces and clean water.

As Secretary of the Interior, you are responsible for protecting and conserving our western public lands and their irreplaceable natural resources. In addition to their world-famous national parks, the Rockies boast some of America's most beautiful, remote and unprotected wildlands. These include Wyoming's Upper Green River Valley, New Mexico's Otero Mesa and Colorado's Roan Plateau.

These wildlands include vital habitat for many of our nation's most beloved wildlife species: threatened grizzly bears, wolves and thriving herds of pronghorn, elk and bison. And the area's superb recreational resources are contributing to new and burgeoning economies across the region.

Yet these special places are facing numerous threats -- most notably oil and gas drilling and oil shale development. Even as oil and gas drilling takes a mounting toll on local communities and wildlife throughout the region, the Bureau of Land Management is seeking to expand this destructive activity. Even as western governors call for stricter protections for wildlife corridors -- the key land bridges that numerous species depend on for their long-term survival -- proposals are mounting that would industrialize lands within or next to these areas. And even as Interior Department officials call for "off-site mitigations" for wildlife, new drilling is being proposed in areas that could be used for those very mitigations. Meanwhile, elected officials at every level are calling for a step back from the rush to develop oil shale.

To prevent more damage to our western wildlands, your department must act quickly to return balance to the management of the public's natural resources in this region.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

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