Red Desert Wildlife In Danger, Help Now!
- by: Wyoming Outdoor Council & Sierra
- recipient: Jack Morrow Hills Supplemental Draft Plan
Sign Now To Save Red Desert Wildlife!
The Jack Morrow Hills Study Area, the 620,000-acre heart of the 8 million acre Greater Red Desert, is home to 350 species of wildlife including: the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 states-- some 50,000 pronghorn antelope, a rare desert elk herd, mountain lions, coyotes, golden eagles, ferruginous hawks, and bands of wild horses. In addition, the largest active sand dune system in the United States and seven Wilderness Study areas are some of the other superlatives in this stunning desert landscape of multi-colored buttes, rolling sagebrush bluffs, and mysterious hoodoos.
Unfortunately, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has decided to give priority to oil and gas development over these rare and irreplaceable resources in its Supplemental Draft plan for the Jack Morrow Hills Study Area. The BLM's plan would allow several hundred new oil and gas wells to be drilled
in sensitive wildlife habitats. The BLM's plan would endanger Steamboat Mountain, a Shoshone Indian holy site and an ancient Native American buffalo jump hunt site, giving preference instead to natural gas drilling. If the plan is finalized, it would ensure that a spider-web of new roads, utility lines and drilling rigs would slowly be woven over the next thirty years, destroying the wild character of this spectacular desert.
A coalition of conservation groups, hunting groups, businesses, and ranchers in Wyoming, in addition to numerous national organizations, have developed the Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative. This balanced plan would protect the irreplaceable resources in the Jack Morrow Hills Study Area and ensure that oil and gas development and other resource extraction activities do not destroy these values. The citizens' alternative would allow many existing uses such as hunting and grazing to continue in a responsible way, while increasing protections for potential wilderness areas, Native American sacred areas, and pioneer trails. It would ensure the long-term survival of the Red Desert elk herd, the huge pronghorn antelope herd that occupies the area, and the 350 other species of wildlife that live there.
The Bureau of Land Management can not ignore us! Demand a Management plan that reflects the priorities of conservation and wildlife protection. Sign the FREE petition below and your comments will be sent to the BLM. And then, send this petition to all of your friends and family! Together, we can save the Red Desert!
(photos provided by Mike McClure)
The Jack Morrow Hills Study Area, the 620,000-acre heart of the 8 million acre Greater Red Desert, is home to 350 species of wildlife including: the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 states-- some 50,000 pronghorn antelope, a rare desert elk herd, mountain lions, coyotes, golden eagles, ferruginous hawks, and bands of wild horses. In addition, the largest active sand dune system in the United States and seven Wilderness Study areas are some of the other superlatives in this stunning desert landscape of multi-colored buttes, rolling sagebrush bluffs, and mysterious hoodoos.
Unfortunately, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has decided to give priority to oil and gas development over these rare and irreplaceable resources in its Supplemental Draft plan for the Jack Morrow Hills Study Area. The BLM's plan would allow several hundred new oil and gas wells to be drilled
in sensitive wildlife habitats. The BLM's plan would endanger Steamboat Mountain, a Shoshone Indian holy site and an ancient Native American buffalo jump hunt site, giving preference instead to natural gas drilling. If the plan is finalized, it would ensure that a spider-web of new roads, utility lines and drilling rigs would slowly be woven over the next thirty years, destroying the wild character of this spectacular desert.
A coalition of conservation groups, hunting groups, businesses, and ranchers in Wyoming, in addition to numerous national organizations, have developed the Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative. This balanced plan would protect the irreplaceable resources in the Jack Morrow Hills Study Area and ensure that oil and gas development and other resource extraction activities do not destroy these values. The citizens' alternative would allow many existing uses such as hunting and grazing to continue in a responsible way, while increasing protections for potential wilderness areas, Native American sacred areas, and pioneer trails. It would ensure the long-term survival of the Red Desert elk herd, the huge pronghorn antelope herd that occupies the area, and the 350 other species of wildlife that live there.
The Bureau of Land Management can not ignore us! Demand a Management plan that reflects the priorities of conservation and wildlife protection. Sign the FREE petition below and your comments will be sent to the BLM. And then, send this petition to all of your friends and family! Together, we can save the Red Desert!
(photos provided by Mike McClure)
Renee Dana
Project Leader
BLM Rock Springs Field Office
280 Highway 191 North
Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901
Re: Jack Morrow Hills Supplemental Draft Plan
Dear Renee Dana:
I am writing to you today to voice my support for the Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative for the Jack Morrow Hills supplemental draft plan.
The Jack Morrow Hills Area of the Red Desert is a national treasure and should be afforded the highest level of protection possible. Since 1898, when Wyoming hunter Dr. Frank Dunham proposed that the Red Desert be designated as a Winter Game Preserve, there have been numerous attempts by citizens to protect this unique area. Over the last century there have been unsuccessful proposals to designate the Jack Morrow Hills Area as a National Park, a National Monument, a National Natural Landscape, a North American Antelope Range and a Wild Horse Refuge. Allowing this opportunity to slip by would be a national tragedy.
The Red Desert is the largest unprotected and undeveloped high elevation desert left in the United States. Among other things the area boasts: the largest active sand dune system in North America; seven Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs); the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 --approximately 50,000 pronghorn antelope; the largest desert elk herd in the world; some of the healthiest populations of sage grouse and raptors in Wyoming; numerous Native American holy sites; and Nationally significant historic sites such as the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer Trails and the former "Tri-Territory" meeting point of the Louisiana Territory, the Oregon Territory and the Mexican Republic.
I strongly urge that the Bureau of Land Management adopt the Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative in the final Jack Morrow Hills plan. The Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative would:
1. allow for responsible recreation, hunting, grazing and off-road vehicle use and access to public lands;
2. ask for the trade or buy-out of mineral leases in the area;
3. prohibit all new oil and gas leasing and large-scale mining activities;
4. prevent new roads and developments in roadless areas, increase the size of some Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), establish new WSAs for lands identified as qualifying by citizens' inventories, and recommend that all deserving Wilderness Study Areas and wild lands be designated as wilderness by Congress;
5. protect Native American holy sites and historic landmarks such as the Oregon Trail; and
6. ensure the long-term survival of the Red Desert elk and pronghorn antelope herds and other wildlife.
I urge the BLM to select this balanced alternative as the best plan for protecting the natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Red Desert.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Sign PetitionSign PetitionProject Leader
BLM Rock Springs Field Office
280 Highway 191 North
Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901
Re: Jack Morrow Hills Supplemental Draft Plan
Dear Renee Dana:
I am writing to you today to voice my support for the Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative for the Jack Morrow Hills supplemental draft plan.
The Jack Morrow Hills Area of the Red Desert is a national treasure and should be afforded the highest level of protection possible. Since 1898, when Wyoming hunter Dr. Frank Dunham proposed that the Red Desert be designated as a Winter Game Preserve, there have been numerous attempts by citizens to protect this unique area. Over the last century there have been unsuccessful proposals to designate the Jack Morrow Hills Area as a National Park, a National Monument, a National Natural Landscape, a North American Antelope Range and a Wild Horse Refuge. Allowing this opportunity to slip by would be a national tragedy.
The Red Desert is the largest unprotected and undeveloped high elevation desert left in the United States. Among other things the area boasts: the largest active sand dune system in North America; seven Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs); the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 --approximately 50,000 pronghorn antelope; the largest desert elk herd in the world; some of the healthiest populations of sage grouse and raptors in Wyoming; numerous Native American holy sites; and Nationally significant historic sites such as the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer Trails and the former "Tri-Territory" meeting point of the Louisiana Territory, the Oregon Territory and the Mexican Republic.
I strongly urge that the Bureau of Land Management adopt the Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative in the final Jack Morrow Hills plan. The Citizens' Wildlife and Wildlands Alternative would:
1. allow for responsible recreation, hunting, grazing and off-road vehicle use and access to public lands;
2. ask for the trade or buy-out of mineral leases in the area;
3. prohibit all new oil and gas leasing and large-scale mining activities;
4. prevent new roads and developments in roadless areas, increase the size of some Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), establish new WSAs for lands identified as qualifying by citizens' inventories, and recommend that all deserving Wilderness Study Areas and wild lands be designated as wilderness by Congress;
5. protect Native American holy sites and historic landmarks such as the Oregon Trail; and
6. ensure the long-term survival of the Red Desert elk and pronghorn antelope herds and other wildlife.
I urge the BLM to select this balanced alternative as the best plan for protecting the natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Red Desert.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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