Former Rangers Oppose Oil and Gas Development Near National Parks

Oil and Gas Development on federal lands NIOSH

I'm proud to lend my name to more than 350 former national park personnel who sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke opposing oil and gas development near national parks. Led by the Coalition to Protect National Parks, the letter raises concern and voices opposition to the growing number oil and gas proposals sited around national parks such as Glacier, the Grand Canyon, and Zion.

The letter points out that process for approving these new oil and gas permits is often rushed and with little or no consultation with the National Park Service.  Oil and Gas development can negatively impact air and water quality, degrade wildlife habitat, and destroy scenic vistas.  The national parks represent less than 5% of of the United States land mass leaving plenty of more suitable places to explore for fossil fuels.

As such signatories include superintendents, wildlife biologists, law enforcement rangers, resource managers, and front line rangers are asking the Department of Interior to avoid issuing oil and gas leases near national parks.

To add your voice to those of these rangers, please send a note to the DOI. Emails can be sent by clicking here.

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Sean Smith is an award winning conservationist and author. He is a former National Park Ranger at Yellowstone, Glacier, and the North Cascades. He is a TEDx speaker, and private pilot. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in Political Science. He got his master's in Natural Resources Management from Central Washington University in 1996. He currently runs Washington State's efforts to reduce and eliminate toxic chemicals from consumer products and serves as the Mayor Pro Tem of Covington.

He has been writing stories and books since he was a child and currently writes national park thrillers from the shadow of Mount Rainier.

All his novels can be found here: Mr. Sean D Smith

Who is Calling for the Review of Our National Monuments?

On April 26th 2017, the Trump administration announced its plan to review 22 national monuments established under the Antiquities Act since 1996. The Antiquities Act is federal law that authorizes the President to designate national monuments on federal property. National Monuments cannot be designated on state or private property.

On May 5th, the Department of Interior announced a 45 day comment period on this review, asking the public to comment on the legality of these designations, their impact upon multiple uses, local support, and impacts upon regional economies. 

Many immediately questioned the President's motivation for ordering this review.  Two of the main arguments offered up as support for this review are that the public doesn't support monument designations and that they harm regional economies, killing jobs, and ending traditional uses of the land.

Immediately after the President's announcement in April, I filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy for the following:

a.      Any public communication to the Department of Interior and/or its Bureaus on or since January 20, 2017 requesting a review of the national monuments identified in President Trump’s Executive Order dated April 26, 2017.

b.  Any information on the impacts to local, regional, and national economies produced by the monuments at issue.

All agencies, expect the Department of Agriculture have confirmed receipt of the requests.  The DOE, DOI, and DOC began processing the request almost immediately.  

The Department of Energy (DOE) has completed its review and found no records responsive to request.  Under President Trump, the Department of Energy has received not one request to review national monuments. In other words, no one has called upon President Trump to make this review. Nor does the DOE have any information on the impact national monuments have on regional economies. 

It's expected the remaining agencies will turn up a similar lack of information. 

So if Trump hasn't received a request to make this review and the federal government has no information on the economic impacts of these monuments, the major questions remains, why is the Trump administration conducting this review?

The DOE's response can be found below.

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Sean Smith is an award winning conservationist and author. He is a former National Park Ranger at Yellowstone, a TEDx speaker, and private pilot. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in Political Science. He got his master's in Natural Resources Management from Central Washington University in 1996. He currently runs Washington State's efforts to reduce and eliminate toxic chemicals from consumer products and serves as the Mayor Pro Tem of Covington.

He has been writing stories and books since he was a child and currently writes national park thrillers from the shadow of Mount Rainier.

All his novels can be found here: Mr. Sean D Smith