Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON --(Ammoland.com)- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the Department of the Interior adhered to federal law in its decision to vastly expand energy development on wildlife-rich public lands located on southwestern Wyoming’s Pinedale Anticline, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today.

The TRCP suit, filed in 2008, contended that the Bureau of Land Management failed to implement “adaptive environmental management” and mitigation activities as committed to in decision documents for the Pinedale Anticline natural gas project, which comprises crucial winter range for one of the state’s largest mule deer populations and prime sage grouse habitat in the Upper Green River Basin. Mule deer numbers have declined by more than half in the project area in the decade since development began.

The court ruled that the BLM properly considered a reasonable range of alternatives in the 2008 record of decision, or ROD, for the project, even though it did not consider an alternative that would restore wildlife to levels consistent with the initial ROD, released in 2000. The court further found BLM’s prior commitments could not be enforced because the new 2008 ROD superseded those commitments and BLM was entitled to a presumption that it would implement the 2008 ROD to ensure against unnecessary and undue degradation.

“Essentially, federal law allows the Bureau of Land Management to permit expanded energy development even in the face of declining wildlife populations. If this is the law, then law needs to be changed,” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh. “Mule deer populations in the area have declined precipitously since development began in 2000 and since the 2008 ROD. No one disputes this fact. These losses are unacceptable to sportsmen and should outrage anyone who cares about the conscientious administration of fish, wildlife and public lands.”

In its ruling, the court also found that the agency fully considered the impact of the project on hunting in the region and that the mitigation measures adopted by BLM on balance would comply with BLM’s duties under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The TRCP maintains that BLM decisions regarding development in the anticline consistently ignore current science about the impacts of natural gas projects on mule deer and a host of other species important to sportsmen.

“As defined by the court, the bottom line in the Pinedale Anticline natural gas project is that the federal government has the discretion to take whatever action it deems appropriate, even at the expense of responsible fish and wildlife management, the interests of citizens, including hunters and anglers, and in conflict with the multiple-use approach the BLM is legally bound to uphold,” said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe, TRCP board member and past leader of the Pinedale Anticline Working Group Wildlife Task Group. “This is unacceptable.

“If the BLM can oversee oil and gas development on our public lands with little or no regard to fish and wildlife populations,” continued Sparrowe, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who lives near the project site, “then the public needs stronger laws or regulations to protect our valuable and shared natural resources. The TRCP remains committed to ensuring that responsive policy measures addressing these deficiencies are enacted.

“The mule deer population on the Pinedale Anticline is the most intensively studied herd in the American West being affected by unusually intensive gas development,” Sparrowe stated. “Ten years of research and monitoring indicate a negative downward trend and an overall decline of close to 60 percent – a number that was confirmed before the documented die-offs from last year’s severe winter. Losses are expected to increase even further this year. Data also show that surrounding mule deer herds not affected as much by gas drilling all are in better condition. Further declines will occur as the rest of the drilling moves into new, important habitats. The unique negative influence on this Mesa Herd is winter drilling, which proves without a doubt that such drilling is incompatible with sustaining a wintering deer herd.”

“The TRCP is in favor of sustainable energy development on public lands, but the project on the Pinedale Anticline clearly is degrading wildlife and hunting opportunities,” concluded Fosburgh. “The real tragedy in Pinedale is that energy development could have been accomplished without these huge losses in mule deer and other wildlife – but the BLM and the drillers insisted on a pace of development that turned our public lands into an industrial zone and hammered a once-iconic mule deer herd, likely past the point of recovery. American citizens, whether or not they ever will hunt in southwestern Wyoming, must live with the disastrous results of the Pinedale debacle for generations to come.”

The TRCP supports responsible public-lands energy development that is pursued in accordance with federal law and ensures citizens’ continued ability to access our lands and natural resources.

Learn more about the TRCP’s work in support of responsible energy development.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

NRA - ILA

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- In a major legal victory, a federal judge has ruled in favor of the National Rifle Association and the federal Bureau of Land Management, throwing a lawsuit filed by an environmental group, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), out of U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Ariz.

The case is Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Safari Club International had joined the case as a “friend of the court” and assisted NRA with its successful efforts.

CBD’s lawsuit, filed on Jan. 27, 2009, alleged that the BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona. The lawsuit challenged the allowance of off road vehicles, construction of roads, inadequate protection of desert tortoises, and inadequate protection of California condors.

Among other things, the suit sought to force BLM to ban the use of lead ammunition for hunting in the Arizona Strip, a rugged area in the northwest corner of the state renowned for great hunting. CBD contended California condors in Arizona and elsewhere were being poisoned from scavenging game that was shot by hunters using lead shot or bullets. But the record plainly shows that California condors were reintroduced to this area of Arizona based on express promises by FWS and other agencies that the reintroduction would not affect hunting.

Among other things, the Court ruled that CBD had waived its claims concerning BLM’s failure to assess the alleged impact of lead ammunition on condors because “[i]t did not argue that BLM was required to include the potential effects of lead ammunition in [BLM's] analysis of environmental impacts.”

Even before the ruling, NRA’s intervention in the case on behalf of its members had already resulted in several legal victories.

A Jan. 13, 2010 court ruling granting NRA’s motion to intervene was recently published in the official Federal Rules Decision Reporter. The Federal Rules Decisions Reporter is a compendium of selected United States district court rulings that specifically interpret and apply the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure.

Publication of this court ruling is important to hunters and NRA members because it sets legal precedent by confirming that there is a “significantly protectable interest” in hunting that can justify intervention by hunter’s rights groups like NRA in the increasing number of lawsuits filed by so-called environmental groups against state and federal natural resource, game and land management agencies.

To see key documents filed in this case, visit http://michellawyers.com/cbdvblm.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Arizona Citizens Defense League

Catalina, AZ --(Ammoland.com)- President 0bama promised that he was going to implement efforts to erase your right to bear arms “under the radar.”

Now, he’s brought the fight to Arizona.

Using the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the 0bama administration has proposed banning recreational shooting in the half-million acres of Sonoran Desert National Monument.

BLM has released proposed plans for the future management of nearly 1.4 million acres located southwest of Phoenix, in parts of Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Gila and Yuma Counties.

Of that total, over 486,000 acres are within the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The proposals can be found at: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/planning/son_des.html .

Two of the possible alternatives (“D” and “E”) propose closing the area to recreational shooters.

Presently, some 63 sites in the national monument are used by recreational shooters. The proposed plans also address other issues of importance to shooters and hunters, including the designation of roads and trails for motorized vehicles and areas that could be managed as wilderness.

If you ride, hike, hunt or shoot in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, you need to get involved in this planning process!

The public comment period is open through November 25.
Instructions for making comments can be found at: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/planning/son_des.html .
Comments can be faxed or mailed to BLM, Phoenix District Office.

At the BLM website (http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/planning/son_des.html) you will also find a series of public BLM meetings, being held in October, to discuss the proposal to ban recreational shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument. Meetings will be held in Phoenix, Mesa, Casa Grande, Buckeye, Gila Bend and Ajo. We urge you to attend as many of these meetings as possible.

This is not the first time that the BLM has attempted to close an entire national monument to shooters, making no attempt to provide places for and access to shooting sites. The Ironwood National Monument shooting ban was defeated because of the outcry from concerned citizens (you!).

Together, we can defeat the 0bama administration’s proposed Sonoran Desert National Monument shooting ban!

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization: www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html .

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html .

About:
AzCDL believes that the emphasis of gun laws should be on criminal misuse and that law-abiding citizens should be able to own and carry firearms unaffected by unnecessary laws or regulations. AzCDL was founded by a group of local activists who recognized that a sustained, coordinated, statewide effort was critical to protecting and expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners. As a like-minded coalition of activists, the AzCDL founders were instrumental in the successful passage of the first major improvement to Arizona’s CCW (concealed carry) laws since they were instituted in 1994. Visit: www.azcdl.org

Outdoor Industry Association

Boulder, CO. --(Ammoland.com)- Citing the need for balance in federal land management and the role public and wild lands play in supporting jobs across the American economy, The Conservation Alliance (Alliance), Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and companies they represent sent a letter to members of the House Natural Resources Committee supporting the Bureau of Land Management’s new wild lands policy.

“Proper management of wilderness-quality lands and congressionally-designated Wilderness signals our national commitment to conservation of our public lands, clean waters, healthy wildlife, and cultural and historical landscapes,” the industry said in backing the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Order 3310.

“The outdoor industry depends on a full spectrum of public lands and waters to provide places for our customers to use the products we make and sell. Outdoor recreation contributes $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy, and supports nearly 6.5 million jobs across our country. Ensuring that some of our BLM lands are preserved for recreation and habitat is an investment in our economic future and the quality of life in communities,” stated the letter signed by the Alliance, OIA and 19 leading outdoor companies.

“Secretary Salazar’s order ensures Western communities have the opportunity to choose a balanced economic approach. Active outdoor recreation generates $289 billion in annual retail sales and supports sustainable, domestic jobs in every American community – rural and urban, said Frank Hugelmeyer, President of OIA. “Jobs vs. conservation is yesterday’s logic. The recreation economy balances boom and bust cycles of extractive industries,” Hugelmeyer said.

“Conservation is an investment in the future of the outdoor industry,” said John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. “Secretary Salazar’s order requires that the BLM preserve the wilderness characteristics on some of its lands; the same lands where outdoor customers recreate using the products our members make and sell.”

The Conservation Alliance
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas. Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Outdoor Industry Association
Outdoor Industry Association® is a national trade association whose mission is to ensure the growth and success of the outdoor industry. OIA provides trade services for manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives and retailers in the outdoor industry. OIA provides industry-defining resources and support in government/legislative affairs, market and social research, business-to-business services and youth outreach initiatives

A hunter with his mule deer, taken from public lands in Montana. Changes to federal leasing practices on these lands would benefit fish, wildlife and our sporting traditions. Photo courtesy David Thorstenson.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- In recent years, sportsmen across America have spoken loudly in urging the Bureau of Land Management to pursue energy development on our federal public lands that is balanced with the needs of fish, wildlife and our outdoor traditions.

Unique hunting and angling destinations such as Utah’s Book Cliffs and Wyoming’s Atlantic Rim demand a new and smarter development approach that will safeguard these areas invaluable sporting opportunities.

Now your hard work is paying off. Sportsmen’s voices are being heard in Washington. The Secretary of the Interior recently has announced changes to the way energy resources will be developed on public lands – changes that could better sustain other land uses such as hunting and fishing.

But hunters and anglers must speak up once again to ensure that these changes benefit America’s sporting community and our outdoor heritage.

Take a moment right now to contact Interior Secretary Ken Salazar – urge him to develop a smarter leasing and development process that guarantees the future of hunting and fishing.

About:
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing. Visit: www.trcp.org

California Rifle and Pistol Association

Phoenix, Az. --(AmmoLand.com)- As part of NRA’s continuing efforts to protect hunters from special interest groups seeking to eliminate the use of ammunition containing lead projectiles, attorneys for NRA filed paperwork in the United States District Court in Arizona on October 14, 2009 asking the Court to allow NRA to intervene and join in the lawsuit Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Bureau of Land Management et al (3:09-cv-08011-PCT-PGR).

The court could rule on NRA’s intervention request as early as the end of this month.

The lawsuit, filed January 27, 2009 by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), alleges that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (BLM, FWS) are illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona because those agencies failed to consider the potential impact on local wildlife resulting from authorizing activities like off-road vehicle use and allowing livestock grazing. CBD’s lawsuit also claims that California condors in Arizona are becoming ill or dying as a result of eating lead in scavenged game shot by hunters using lead shot or bullets, and that BLM and FWS are violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing hunters to use of lead shot and bullets while hunting.

National Rifle Association

NRA has been at the forefront of debunking the so-called “science” behind the theory that lead bullets are responsible for condor illness. NRA most recently worked with experts, researchers, and attorneys in California to defeat proposed state hunting regulations based on the unproven condor/lead bullets link. That success was based in large part on meticulous scientific reports prepared by experts working with NRA that exposed the deficiencies in the science, showing the theoretical link to be rooted in “psuedo-science,” as one California Fish and Game Commissioner described it.

Because of NRA’s previous experience and expertise with this issue in other states, and because there is no guarantee that either BLM or FWS will vigorously challenge the unproven assertions CBD is making about lead-based ammunition, NRA is seeking to intervene in CBD’s lawsuit to protect its members’ interests.

NRA is especially interested in defending against CBD’s lawsuit because California condors were introduced to Arizona based in large part on express promises by FWS, among others, that the reintroduction of condors would not be allowed to impact hunting.

A copy of the Motion to Intervene, CBD’s Opposition, and NRA’s Reply Brief is posted at http://www.calgunlaws.com/ .

About:
The California Rifle and Pistol Association “CRPA,” founded in 1875, is dedicated to defending the rights of law-abiding citizens to responsibly use firearms for self-defense and the defense of their loved ones, for sport, and for all other legal activities. CRPA is the official state association of the National Rifle Association. A California non-profit association, CRPA is independently directed by its own Board of Directors. CRPA’s 65,000 members include law enforcement officers, prosecutors, professionals, firearm experts, the general public, and loving parents. CRPA has always worked to reduce the criminal misuse of firearms and firearms accidents, while actively promoting and organizing the competitive shooting sports and Olympic training programs in California. We are proud to say that many CRPA competitors are among the best in the world.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON –-(AmmoLand.com)- The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today took an aggressive step forward in holding the federal government accountable for management commitments it made on a southwestern Wyoming energy project by filing a legal brief in a suit against the Department of the Interior. The sportsmen’s group asserts that the Bureau of Land Management has mishandled adaptive management on the Pinedale Anticline natural gas development project. The TRCP initially filed its lawsuit because the BLM formally adopted and then abandoned adaptive management plans intended to protect a host of species.

At issue in the TRCP suit are commitments made by the BLM to sustain the region’s natural resources through an “adaptive environmental management” process in its authorization in 2000 and a supplemental authorization in 2008 for the Pinedale Anticline project area, which encompasses approximately 200,000 acres of the Green River Basin in Sublette County, Wyo. The project authorized development in a region that supports substantial numbers of sage-grouse and contains crucial winter range for one of the state’s largest mule deer populations. The latter has declined by 30 percent in the project area since development began. These species and other game in the region offer some of Wyoming’s best hunting and fishing opportunities; hunting seasons and recreational use have been reduced due to the impacts from development.

“This lawsuit upholds the interests of sportsmen in Wyoming and across the country,” said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe, a former federal biologist and lifelong hunter who lives near the project site. “Development in the Pinedale Anticline has proceeded without checks that the adaptive management process was intended to provide. Big-game and upland bird populations are suffering, and hunting opportunities are declining. The TRCP supports responsible public-lands energy development that is pursued in accordance with federal law and ensures citizens’ continued ability to access our shared lands and natural resources. Our inaction in Pinedale would allow the ongoing mismanagement of Western lands and the elimination of America’s dearly held outdoor traditions.

“From the project’s beginnings in 2000, the BLM committed itself and industry to processes that it concluded were essential to safeguarding fish and wildlife during development of the Pinedale Anticline,” continued Sparrowe, a TRCP board member and past leader of the Pinedale Anticline Working Group Wildlife Task Group. “The BLM subsequently failed to uphold those commitments and contracts with the American public. But instead of acknowledging the fact, the agency redesigned the project in 2008 and authorized expanded development, forging ahead as though initial commitments never were made and lessening the role of the public in the development of these public lands. This is unacceptable and goes against federal law. The government must be held accountable for promises it makes to the American people.”

The BLM’s failure to implement the adaptive environmental management process began in 2000. The current administration, however, has not yet corrected fundamental problems identified by the TRCP in its suit, which contends that the BLM disregard of this process violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, laws intended to assure responsible management of federal public lands. The suit also states that BLM decisions regarding development in the Pinedale Anticline consistently ignored current science regarding the impacts of energy development on populations of mule deer and sage-grouse.

“Under the 2000 project plan, a body of science was collected for the benefit of wildlife populations but never was employed – neither at that time nor in the 2008 plan,” said TRCP Senior Vice President Tom Franklin. “This decision by the federal government perpetrated a whole host of failed policies to the detriment of wildlife, with the few policies that might have been effective if implemented being dismissed.

“In essence, the BLM ignored peer-reviewed, current science, and its decisions resulted in huge profits for industry – at the public’s expense,” Franklin continued. “Our shared fish and wildlife resources were sold, at great cost to American citizens and our collective outdoor heritage.”

The TRCP initiated its case against the Department of the Interior in U.S. District Court in June 2008, supplementing its complaint in Oct. 2008 to reflect additional claims arising from a new record of decision issued in Sept. 2008. Under the 2008 plan, the modest protections afforded wildlife are undercut by permanent, widespread exceptions to seasonal development restrictions. As demonstrated in the established case record, the limited mitigation measures offered by energy companies cannot effectively alleviate the environmental damage resulting from the increased development.

Oral arguments in the case are expected to commence in spring 2010. The TRCP also is actively pursuing conversations with the Department of the Interior about resolving the case.

The TRCP and its partners believe that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife and the CAST principles.

About:
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions
of hunting and fishing.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)-Americans of all ages have the opportunity to help restore the beauty and vitality of our public lands on September 26 as part of the 16th annual National Public Lands Day. Across the nation, people will join the largest coast-to-coast, single-day volunteer effort to improve America’s public lands.

Many of this year’s events will focus on water and its importance in healthy ecosystems. More than 130,000 expected volunteers will clean up waterways, rivers and wetlands, build fish habitats, reduce runoff by planting native vegetation and test water quality in streams and rivers. National Public Lands Day provides Americans with a great chance to get outside and improve our public lands, while answering the new administration’s call for Americans to participate in public service.

“National Public Lands Day is an opportunity for people of all ages to get outside and become a naturalist for a day. We are proud to be a long-time partner in this public-private partnership,” said Sam Hamilton, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I encourage citizens to volunteer in local efforts, spruce up public lands and introduce children to the natural environment.”

This year, organizers are expecting a record number of volunteers to participate at events. Nonprofit organizations, community groups and land management agencies at the local, county, state and federal levels are among the participants in these activities and events.

“Many of our refuges are designated to protect rare natural features or particular species of birds, animals and plants. During National Public Lands Day, volunteers will make significant contributions at refuges, such as maintaining visitor facilities, restoring precious dune and salt marsh habitats, collecting wildflower seeds for prairie restoration and cleaning up beaches,” said Greg Siekaniec, Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

A list of refuges participating in National Public Lands Day is available at www.fws.gov. The special events Web site at www.fws.gov/refuges/SpecialEvents/FWS_SpecialEvents_Search.cfm has additional locations, and to find a specific refuge, visit the locator map at www.fws.gov/refuges/refugeLocatorMaps/index.html.

“Wherever Americans go outdoors to explore, hike, fish, paddle, jog or just enjoy nature, that location is likely to be a candidate for a National Public Lands Day event,” said Robb Hampton, director of National Public Lands Day, a program of the National Environmental Education Foundation. “For 2009, we have a special focus on the connection water has on our public lands.”

Planting vegetation and trees near bodies of water can help improve water quality in many ways. Trees remove pollutants and carbon dioxide from the air. When trees and shrubs are planted as a “buffer zone” along the edges of rivers and streams, they are effective in reducing the amount of polluting runoff that would otherwise end up in those bodies of water. Just one tree can eliminate 4,000 gallons of runoff annually.

National Public Lands Day is now the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to enhance the public lands that all Americans enjoy. Last year, more than 120,000 volunteers planted an estimated 1.6 million trees, fixed hundreds of miles of hiking trails and removed trash at nearly 1,900 sites.

National Public Lands Day partners include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Defense, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Invasive Species Council, over 30 states, numerous local agencies and nonprofit groups, such as the National Parks Conservation Association, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA. Community members can find an National Public Lands Day site in their area or register a location of their own at www.publiclandsday.org.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) provides knowledge to trusted professionals who, with their credibility, amplify messages to national audiences to solve everyday environmental problems. Together, we generate lasting positive change. NEEF partners with professionals in health, education, media, business and public land management to promote daily actions for helping people protect and enjoy the environment. www.neefusa.org.

About:
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

National Rifle Association

Nevada – -(AmmoLand.com)- Last week, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox, and National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) Senior Vice President Larry Keane joined U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator John Ensign (R-NV), Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons (R), Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, and Commissioner Tom Collins to dedicate the Clark County Shooting Park (CCSP) in Nevada.

The CCSP is a 3,000-acre park outside of Las Vegas that is devoted entirely to the shooting sports. The park was created by an Act of Congress that transferred land to Clark County from the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The first phase of the 148-acre public shooting facility will be opening to the general public over the next few months, and will include a Shotgun Center, a Public Rifle/Pistol Center, Hunter Education Center, and an Archery Center.

“As the largest shooting park in the world, this state-of-the-art facility represents Nevada’s pride in gun ownership and shooting sports,” said Senator Reid. “In addition to providing a safe place for Nevadans to hone their shooting skills, the park will provide important firearms training and gun safety programs. I am glad to have been a part of securing land and funding for this project and I thank everyone involved with the project for making it a reality.”

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON – -(AmmoLand.com)- Citing a need for more comprehensive upfront planning in crucial wildlife habitat, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today filed an official protest of 26,000 acres of oil and gas leases proposed for federal public lands in Utah. Valuable habitat for mule deer, elk, pronghorn, sage grouse and Gunnison sage grouse is of concern to the sportsmen’s group and spurred its action in the Bureau of Land Management’s Aug. 18 mineral lease sale. Administrative protests are the public’s only means for participating in the leasing of public minerals to private entities.

“Sportsmen support responsibly planned energy development that sustain a range of public-lands uses,” said Joel Webster, associate director of campaigns for the TRCP Center for Western Lands. “Our worry with these Utah leases, however, is that advance planning and adequate stipulations for wildlife and recreational resources have not been established prior to the lands being opened to development. History indicates that after public lands are leased, very little can be done to address the course of subsequent development on other values and uses like wildlife habitats and hunting.”

The TRCP protest includes approximately 9,000 acres of viable pronghorn habitat in Utah’s West Desert region, which is overseen by the BLM’s Fillmore Field Office. Since 2007, the TRCP has been vocal in requesting that the BLM undertake the necessary upfront planning to ensure the area’s responsible energy development and sustain activities such as hunting and fishing. Other leases objected to by the sportsmen are located on mule deer and elk crucial winter range in Utah’s famous Book Cliffs and in Gunnison sage grouse habitat southeast of Moab.

“We find it disheartening to be continually addressing the same issues with the BLM over and over again,” continued Webster. “Models for development exist that would enable the leasing and extraction of these energy reserves in a way that conserves traditional public uses of these lands and the valuable habitat for the critters that inhabit them. The approach currently being taken by the Utah BLM works for neither fish and wildlife nor for balanced public land management. Sportsmen will persevere in attempting to assure the responsible management of these shared resources.”

“The BLM has admitted that it sometimes has neglected to pursue adequate advance planning for fish and wildlife in its drive to open public lands to the energy industry,” said Steve Belinda, associate director of policy and science for the TRCP Center for Western Lands, “and in fact the agency is subjecting other areas in Utah to increased scrutiny – including on-the-ground inspections of proposed lease parcels – in an effort to accurately evaluate their suitability for development. While this represents a step forward, we’d like to see similar attention and level of review instituted as standard operating procedure to avoid conflicts and result in fewer protests.”

The TRCP is actively engaged in promoting a new model for energy development on public lands and waters that safeguards fish and wildlife populations and hunting and fishing traditions. The TRCP and its partners believe that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife and the CAST principles.

About:
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions
of hunting and fishing.