Conservation Lands Foundation’s Statement on Senate Passage of H.R.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Shevawn Bell, [email protected]
Washington, DC - Today the Senate passed the most dangerous environmental legislation in modern U.S. history, which includes sweeping measures that gut environmental safeguards, fast-track development on cherished wildspaces like the Western Arctic, and give sweetheart deals away to big oil and gas companies.
Below is a statement from Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation, which represents a national network of community advocates who are solely focused on the public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management including the 38 million acres of National Conservation Lands.
"The Senate's budget reconciliation package is a wholesale assault on America's public lands and waters. Voters from all walks of life should know that policymakers who passed this package have only corporate financial interests at heart when it comes to our nation’s cherished public lands and waters.
“Among the most destructive elements of this bill include language to mandate quarterly oil and gas lease sales on unprecedented amounts of national public lands; bring back noncompetitive leasing - the bargain basement of oil and gas leasing - on public lands; lower royalty rates paid to U.S. taxpayers for drilling on public lands; and mandate lease sales every two years in the Western Arctic (NPR-A) with a minimum of 4 million acres offered per sale.
"Selling out America’s public lands, most notably the Western Arctic, to oil and gas companies would cause devastating harm to largely intact ecosystems that support Indigenous and local communities, outdoor recreation, local economies and wildlife habitats.
"We call on the House of Representatives to act on behalf of the majority of the American public by rejecting this destructive bill. America's public lands are integral to the fabric of our nation: protecting them for the benefit of all Americans is in the national interest.”
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Conservation Lands Foundation published this page in Latest News 2025-07-02 09:23:06 -0600
