On July 16, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana introduced the Leasing Market Efficiency Act, which will put an end to a wasteful, outdated practice that is hurting our public lands and outdoor way of life. It's called noncompetitive oil and gas leasing, and it allows speculators to lease public lands for $1.50 an acre per year.
Noncompetitive oil and gas leasing creates a situation in which the BLM - already underfunded and understaffed - is bombarded with thousands of acres of oil and gas leases to process and monitor. Those leases, which provide no public benefit, take time, resources, and knowledge away from all of the other things the BLM is obliged to do under its multiple-use mandate, such as habitat improvements, clean water monitoring, law enforcement, and maintenance of trails, trailheads, fishing access sites, boat ramps, and many other things that are critical for our outdoor way of life and our outdoor recreation economy.
The Leasing Market Efficiency Act will increase transparency in our oil and gas leasing system and prevent thousands of acres of public land across the west from being leased for rock bottom prices.
If you live in Montana, please call Sen. Daines today and ask him to support this common-sense, fiscally-smart, good-governance bill that will put more tax dollars and other resources into our public lands. If you live elsewhere, call your senators today and ask them to do the same.
Contact Daines: p2a.co/fmK3n5X
27 авг 2024
