Why these areas should be protected from drilling:
The places are of tremendous value to local communities and to all Americans
Although the above list is by no means comprehensive, these high-profile public lands have immeasurable environmental and recreational value and are notable for the immediacy and gravity of the threat posed by drilling.
Big oil already has tremendous access to our public lands
Approximately 47.5 million acres of onshore public lands are under lease for oil and gas development.
The number of oil and gas wells is increasing at an astonishing rate
There are now more than 77,000 producing oil and gas wells on all public lands nationwide, and nearly double that amount - at least 126,000 new wells - are planned for Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and New Mexico alone.
Drilling is bad for the environment
Full-field oil and gas development entails production facilities, staging areas, airstrips, drill pads, and hundreds of miles of pipelines and roads which cause noise, water, air, and light pollution. For wildlife, the development fragments their habitat into increasingly smaller and less usable areas, until animals can no longer survive in these areas at all.
The government is supposed to guard our public lands
The Bureau of Land Management's increased oil and gas permitting activity "has lessened BLM's ability to meet its environmental protection responsibilities," according to a 2005 report from the Government Accountability Office
Citizens want to preserve the West's last great places
A diversity of voices is speaking out on behalf of protecting areas from drilling, but are often ignored.
Drill responsibly as part of a balanced energy policy
We don't dispute that there are places where it is appropriate to drill, but it must be done responsibly and at a slower pace, and energy efficiency, renewable energy, and conservation must play larger roles in the nation's energy policy.
