Gas Leases Officially Retired In Bridger-Teton National Forest
Jackson, WY - 03/25/2013
Almost all the oil and gas leases acquired by The Trust for Public Land in the Upper Hoback Basin have now been retired, meaning the land is forever safeguarded from drilling, the national conservation organization announced today.
In January, The Trust for Public land bought oil and gas leases from Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP), covering 58,000 acres of sensitive land in the Upper Hoback region, including 47,780 acres located within the boundaries of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
“We said we would retire those leases on national forest land and we have now officially done that,” said Chris Deming, Project Manager for The Trust for Public Land. “Because these leases are included in the boundaries of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, 2009 legislation that prevents future oil and gas leasing in the area, relinquishing the rights to drill on that land means it is now protected forever.”
The organization will continue to hold title to the remaining off-forest leases while working with state and federal officials on a long-term protection plan, Deming said.
Working with a broad coalition of conservation organizations, concerned citizens, and more than 1,000 donors, The Trust for Public Land announced January 2 that it had raised the $8.75 million needed to buy all the leases.
Kniffy Hamilton, the former Supervisor on the Bridger-Teton National Forest said, “This project was a private sector conservation solution to a public land controversy. The key to its success was how all of the conservation organizations, agencies, volunteers, and most importantly, the community came together under a very tight deadline to protect the Upper Hoback.”
Local residents and citizens from around Wyoming value the Upper Hoback’s wildlife habitat and astounding natural beauty. Generations of Wyoming families have hunted in the area and it is the headwaters of the Hoback River, a congressionally designated wild and scenic river, prized by boaters and anglers alike.
Dan Smitherman, head of the Citizens for the Wyoming Range said, “This is a day to celebrate. Citizens have achieved two of our three goals for the Wyoming Range. First was passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act and second was a buyout and retirement of PXP’s leases in the Upper Hoback. We are now focused on the last issue, which is to ensure the 44,700 acres of contested leases, many of which are directly adjacent to PXP’s proposed drilling site, do not get approved by the Forest Service.”
“Unlike PXP’s valid, existing leases, which required The Trust for Public Land to negotiate a buy-out, the 44,700 acres were unlawfully offered for sale in 2005-06,” explained Lisa McGee, a staff attorney with the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “The Forest Service has full authority not to authorize these leases.”
After citizens just spent millions of dollars to protect adjacent national forest land, it would be hugely controversial for the Forest Service to turn around and lease nearby parcels. The Forest Service has the opportunity to do the right thing with the 44,700” said Dan Smitherman.
Founded in 1972, The Trust for Public Land is the leading nonprofit working to conserve land for people. Operating from more than 30 offices nationwide, The Trust for Public Land has protected more than three million acres from the inner city to the wilderness and helped generate more than $34 billion in public funds for conservation. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year.
