Special interests are getting more than a fair share of the pie of public lands and water use, while the wild horses and burros are getting the short end of the stick. Below is a detailed article that shows what we’re up against.
SOURCE: desmogblog.com
by Steve Horn
Photo Credit: C-SPAN Screenshot
The U.S. Senate has voted 89-11 to approve the Defense Authorization Act of 2015, following the December 4 U.S.House of Representatives’ 300-119 up-vote and now awaits President Barack Obama’s signature.
The 1,616-page piece of pork barrel legislation contains a provision — among other controversial measures — to streamline permitting for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on U.S. public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a unit of the U.S. Department of Interior.
Buried on page 1,156 of the bill as Section 3021 and subtitled “Bureau of Land Management Permit Processing,” the bill’s passage has won praise from both the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and comes on the heels of countries from around the world coming to a preliminary deal at the United Nations climate summit in Lima, Peru, to cap greenhouse gas emissions.
“We applaud the Senate…and are hopeful the president signs this measure in a timely fashion,” said Dan Naatz, IPAA lobbyist and former congressional staffer, in a press release.
Alluding to the bottoming out of the global price of oil, Naatz further stated, “In these uncertain times of price volatility, it’s encouraging for America’s job creators to have regulatory certainty through a streamlined permitting process.”
Streamlined permitting means faster turn-around times for the industry’s application process to drill on public lands, bringing with it all of the air,groundwater and climate change issues that encompass the shale production process.
At the bottom of the same press release, IPAA boasted of its ability to get the legislative proposal introduced initially by U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) as the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014 after holding an “educational meeting” with Udall’s staffers. Endorsed by some major U.S.environmental groups, Udall took more than $191,000 from the oil and gas industry during his successful 2014 re-election campaign.
IPAA‘s publicly admitted influence-peddling efforts are but the tip of the iceberg for how Big Oil managed to stuff expedited permitting for fracking on U.S.public lands into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015.
IPAA, API Lobbying Blitz
According to Open Secrets, IPAA, API, ExxonMobil, America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), ConocoPhillips and private equity firm KKR — employer of former head of the CIA David Petraeus — all deployed lobbyists to ensure passage of the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act, now Section 3021 in the NDAA of 2015.
In quarter two and three, KKR deployed Akin Gump’s Ryan Thompson, chief-of-staff for climate change denier U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) between 2002-2010, to lobby for the bill. A self-described ”mini oil and gas company,” the New York City-headquartered KKR owns numerous oil and gas assets in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale basin.
Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, formerly known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company and owned by his holding company Berkshire Hathaway, also lobbied for the bill. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), owned by Berkshire Hathaway, is a major carrier of Bakken crude-by-rail.
Pilot Project Lifts Off
One of the original Senate-side co-sponsors of the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act was U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), who has also also served as a ringleader of other efforts to expedite permitting for fracking on public lands. First elected to the Senate in 2010, before which he was the Governor of North Dakota, the oil and gas industry has given Hoeven close to $325,000 in contributions since his preliminary Senate run.
In 2013, a bill he sponsored — the BLM Streamlining Act — passed by Congress with only one dissenting vote between both chambers combined. It was signed into law by President Obama on the day after Christmas.
That Streamlining Act created a pilot project for expedited permitting of fracking on public lands in the Bakken Shale. It was lobbied for by ExxonMobil,KKR, Marathon Oil, Chesapeake Energy and IPAA, among others.
By comparison, the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014 and now its equivalent Section 3021 in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, expedites permitting of fracking on all public lands.
Image Credit: U.S. Government Printing Office
Hoeven had previously attempted to pass a bill to streamline fracking permitting on BLM public lands and “recognize the primacy of States,” calling it the Empower States Act of 2013. That bill was lobbied for by both ExxonMobil and API.
White House Help: Heather Zichal
The Obama White House has also long shown interest in the expedited permitting approach for fracking, portending a likely looming sign-off on the bill.
Beyond signing the BLM Streamlining Act into law on December 26, 2013, President Obama also authorized Executive Orders in March 2012 and May 2013 calling on streamlined permitting of all energy infrastructure projects.
During her time as Obama White House top energy and climate aide, Heather Zichal — now on the Board of Directors for fracked gas exporting company Cheniere — oversaw the signing of an April 2012 Executive Order mandating creation of an interagency working group to streamline regulatory oversight for fracking in the U.S.
Heather Zichal; Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Zichal also laid the groundwork for lack of transparency on injection of fracking chemicals into the ground on U.S. public lands, bringing the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) approach for chemical transparency to the BLM. Before inserting the provision into the BLM draft rules currently being finalized, Zichal “huddled” with the industry numerous times.
“Zichal met more than 20 times in 2012 with industry groups and company executives lobbying on the proposed rule,” reported EnergyWire. “Among them were the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), along with BP America Inc., Devon Energy Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.”
Protect Our Public Lands Act
Despite obvious extreme odds stacked against them, two members of the U.S.House Progressive Caucus — with the support of Food and Water Watch and several other progressive groups — have introduced a bill to ban fracking on U.S. public lands.
Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the two-page Protect Our Public Lands Act ”prohibit[s] the lessee from conducting any activity under the lease for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing.”
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky; Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“We owe it to our children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren, to ensure the protection of public lands,” said Schakowsky of her support for the legislation. “This bill — in banning fracking on those lands — helps us follow through on that important promise.”
But only one thing can really receive a promise in this case: public interest groups are in a David vs. Goliath fight. And Goliath, clearly, is well-organized and well-mobilized on the issue as 2014 comes to a close.
Categories: Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
And all of this on the day that New York state banned FRACKING as unsafe. I am so disappointed in Obama. The White House is full of FRACKERS and GMO advocates. Sickening! Thank God for Pocan, Schakowsky and the rest of the progressives. We must rally behind them – spread the word.
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How great for New York (& all of us New Yorkers) and hopefully, it will encourage other states – well not the states, or the government, of course – but maybe it will raise more public opinion against fracking. I sure hope so.
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how are your demoncreatons now? as the rep’s are no better sold out for dollar. just goes to show ya –none of them are any good. none listen to we the people.
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You know, Cindy, name calling which is totally btw out in left field is so immature and unattractive.
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We’ve been sold out AGAIN.
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Exactly, Barbara Warner!
And here is the understatement of the year … “influence-peddling” when “bought and paid for” is clearer and the truth.
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Only 2 legislators are caring about our lands….. Applaud them. Shame on the others!!
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States trying to take over land management again:
http://westgov.org/policies/306-land-management/852-public-lands-grazing
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Udall, although a lawyer, was always entrenched in oil, and his father was Sec of Interior in the 60s. These people have connections. Always liked Jan Schakowsky and wish she had more power to do the right thing.
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Well, my comment didn’t make the cut. Hmmm …
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All senators who voted to pass this should be voted out of office.
Find out WHO has funded your senator’s campaign.
https://www.opensecrets.org/
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Corporations and Contractors CAN and most likely WILL face major Citizen Lawsuits due to this bill’s passage.
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Aha! I commented on the wrong post.
I started to see this coming when Putin came to power and began flexing his muscle on the world stage, especially by using gas as a weapon against Europe. It accelerated when the situation in Ukraine arose and threatened our NATO allies, so we have a dog in this fight.
The Saudis have joined the US in a strong effort to damage the Russian economy – which requires about $105 a barrel to break even. Sanctions are working, but not fast enough. Using oil as a weapon could work, or it could cause Putin to strike back in other areas. His strength is the support of his people, especially the older generation who’ve already faced deprivation and survived. I believe all the Russian people want their country to return to its superpower status and even restore the Soviet Union by expanding it’s actual territory rather than as a federation.
I also suspect part of normalizing relations with Cuba is to ensure Russia doesn’t have a platform to threaten us 90 miles off our coast. I don’t think it’s a coincidence Tom Udall was deeply involved in those negotiations. Increased trade goes hand in hand with security.
So what do we do? Use our natural resources to retain/increase our strength or risk our own economy and status as the leader of the Free World – which is already in question? Plus deriving energy from within our own country is a national security priority.
That said, is there an opportunity to make deals that would save our wild horses and burros? The oil and gas companies have already made concessions to prevent Sage Grouse from being listed. Maybe advocates could band together and follow the lead of Western Watersheds’ successful efforts. Maybe leases, land exchanges, reassessing zeroed out HMAs, and looking at HAs as well. Banding together is key. The Advocacy is often referred to as “splintered”, but it’s increasingly “split”. I don’t think that’s any secret to the BLM. It makes me want to shake advocates and bring them to their senses. This is SUPPOSED to be about the wild ones – not egos, recognition, and donations. Let’s “agree to disagree” and move forward!
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Linda, wise words! I am still unconvinced about why wild horses and burros constitute any sort of threat to oil and gas operations, unless any and all sources of water (for any ecosystem species) is polluted or used up in the process. The occasional traffic accident is paltry compared to the number of deer or elk in the same situations, so is a straw man argument. Drill pads don’t typically take up vast acreages of land in a single pad, and in between even multitudes of drill pads forage can be found.
What is your take on this supposed conflict? I’ve been asking for years and still find no believable answers. If there is no risk from or to livestock in the same areas, the far fewer wild horses and burros would seem to be a nonexistent threat to anybody’s operations.
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I would make a wild guess and say that there are a lot of horse haters out there and many are ranchers, others are hunters, and lots have strong connection to energy as in ownership of stock, leases, etc. “Sold Out” means money, money, money. In this case through “the use of pubic resources for private profit”.
Our planet is ravaged and our animals are dying. It is time for a new people of every creed, color, and class to come upon the earth, and through action and deed to return the earth to green.
They shall be called Warriors of the Rainbow.
According to an old Hopi Prophecy.
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IcySpots, I was told (by a person “in the know”, not a BLM rep) the reason extractors want wild horses removed is they interfere with restoration required by the agency. Companies must reseed all disturbed land with native plants, and the horses eat what comes up before it has a chance to take hold. I have no idea if cattle or sheep pose the same problem, but the BLM can close grazing around locations until restoration is complete. I wonder if that actually happens.
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THE CLEAN WATER ACT (“ACT” means LAW)
http://publichealthwatch.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/report-u-s-oil-companies-disregard-clean-water-act-illegally-use-diesel-for-fracking/
REPORT: U.S. Oil Companies Disregard Clean Water Act, Illegally Use Diesel For Fracking
Posted by publichealthwatch
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With regard to Senator Inhofe, I think that calling him a denier is inaccurate. He and the rest of the minority on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee consulted with a number of experts and did a minority report which I read. Senator Inhofe has written a book about climate, but I have not read it. There is a difference between denying that the climate changes, and disbelieving Al Gore’s version of this. Even before I realized that he has provided employment for the Harvard credentialed biologist that used his expert status to put into the policies of the United States of America that the horse is an exotic species. He received this appointment within two months of the NPS’s decision to euthanize of 78 native Iberian Colonial Mustangs in November 1996. Well, by golly, Al Gore made him a job for life. He writes this into several papers published in college journals. None of his work ever cites a single source. Not one.
Don’t ask me to believe anything Al Gore says or anyone who stands in line with him. The only reason I can see for claiming that the horse is not native is so that other people who know something about how fossil fuel is formed aren’t standing around calculating 55 million years would be xxxxxxxx amount of fossil fuel. Especially after World War I and World War II with Germany having such productive oil sands that there chambers on top of chambers of different kinds of fossil fuel. Yes, they have a horse, but their’s is younger than outs.
But that is another thing that makes this whole exotic, alien, invasive, non-native, feral plant pest thing so maddening. Europe, N. America, and Asia were all one land mass at one time. A lot of the land was under water at the time, but the continents were joined. Asia split off, but Europe and North America were joined until the geologic force of uplift pushed the crust between us apart about 65 million years ago. The continental plates moved very slowly,,and Europe and North America were joined until 37 million years ago through land bridges across Greenland. Once we got closer to Asia, Beringia connected North America to Asia and by this time Africa and Europe were closer.
In other words, the world was nothing like it is today for most of prehistory. South America was not joined to North America until five million years ago. But what happens during climate change is that species migrate. Fauna and flora both migrate, so this entire idea that species were assigned a finite corner of the world and they were never, ever to leave that corner and if they did they would destroy whatever habitat they were in like they were the bubonic plague is so scientifically deceitful—it only works if people are ignorant. These guys know this, but they have their story and they are sticking to it. They will kill every last horse on this continent, wild and domestic—except we’re not supposed to know they want to kill domestic horses, too. But that is what one scientists said, and he was used as a source for the 93 report.
This just plain evil It was all done through international treaties, and executive orders. This is not the way things are supposed to work in America. But you know what, I don’t think the Republicans have figured it out yet because it was Clinton-Gore, their Harvard scientifically credentialed experts at deceit. They do no research. Science is about making an observation about a phenomena, researching it, creating an hypothesis, then creating an experiment to test the hypothesis. Most scientists don’t get it right the first time, or the second time. They test their hypothesis time and again–if the see characteristics in the result that indicate they are on the right path. But even the most careful scientists, the most talented, ethical know that they could be wrong. In fact as knowledge continues to grow about a subject and we refine the way we can test phenomena, our findings change. This is common. Therefore, a prudent, cautious, ethical scientist never says, “The science is settled because it is never settled.”
Here we have Al Gore whose real interest has never been climate change. In fact, if he and his employee talk about the research that the later is covering up, it is highly likely that Al Gore knows that CO2 follows temperature increases and follows increased flora and fauna.
Julian Assaunge (sp) is licked up in an embassy in London because Wikileaks hacked the email of two East Anglia university professors and through these hacks they were able to read now Penn State University’s Dr. Michael Mann’s emails, and what becomes apparent is that neither the two East Anglia professors could get the same hockey stick that Dr. Mann got. There is talk of graphic tricks. Graphic tricks appear in abundance in the attempt to hide the truth about the origin of the North American horse. You can find the truth, but you have to know enough to spot the red herring.
Furthermore, this stuff about the Sage Grouse needs to stope. I noticed that FWS never used the word species with the bird, and so I looked in a few taxonomies not done done in the US because I know one of the ones that the Smithsonian has been done by a partner to the horse fibber. I looked at what they had on the horse, and it is really disheartening to see that the Smithsonian of all the places we’d not expect it is using this elementary school stuff. Then the journal that Ann Forsten’s 92 paper has been purchased and it is up on the Net, but the volume her paper is in is not.
It the sage grouse is a subspecies rather than a species, it wouldn’t matter if you preserved all the land from the Pacific to the Atlantic. They will made with other subspecies or if they mate with other species they will hybridize.
I don’t get it at all. The same people that are behind the exotic listing of the horses have had input into the Endangered Species Act—meaning they’ve testified before Congress with their figures from nowhere. They understand population biology. What scientists know now is that there are far fewer species than was once thought, and a lot more subspecies variety. This is good because the variations occur to enable the species to survive.
If we decide to go sign petitions to support those horse supporters the Sierra Club, The Wildlife Society, and The Nature Conservancy—knowing that they have omitted the most important pieces of wildlife population biology and that they have provided false witness to Congress and the American people, the horses need to find some new friends.
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HH, you have obviously done a lot of homework and a great deal of it is of interest to me, but for whatever reason you also fail to cite sources or provide links so it’s hard to follow or understand your arguments.
“None of his work ever cites a single source. Not one.”
“They will kill every last horse on this continent, wild and domestic—except we’re not supposed to know they want to kill domestic horses, too. But that is what one scientists said, and he was used as a source for the 93 report.”
The Sierra Club as a horse supporter? This contradicts my understanding, what do you base that statement on?
And this, I don’t understand your meaning here at all:
“The only reason I can see for claiming that the horse is not native is so that other people who know something about how fossil fuel is formed aren’t standing around calculating 55 million years would be xxxxxxxx amount of fossil fuel.”
How would horse nativity affect how anyone calculates approximate locations and amounts of today’s fossil fuels, which, as we know were formed in areas much altered now by time and the focus of a great deal of exploration? Without a good map of what areas were densely vegetated and/or populated aeons ago, nobody can be sure where fossil fuels are now without a lot of exploratory drilling, mapping, and supposition. I don’t see a horse connection here but somehow you do. Can you explain?
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Public Land is Public Land meant for our wildlife, to remain in natural form and not to be exploited my the cattle industry raising cows for their own profits, or for fracking for Oil Business companies to make money for their own profits, NO, Public Lands are for the public to remain wild, untouched, where our wild horses, and other wild ones may live in peace without mans interference. Man seems to want to destroy everything, in fact man is killing our precious planet.
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I don’t remember my password, or if I even had created a password. I wanted to send a comment and don’t know if it went through.
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Remember the Ruby Pipeline and the Calico roundup?
RUBY PIPELINE GOES ONLINE, PLANS FOR EXPORT OF NATURAL GAS TO ASIAN MARKETS
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/21/18690942.php
Wednesday 21st, 2011
The Ruby Pipeline is now online, scheduled to begin extracting (fracking) natural gas from around Opal, Wyoming and transporting to Malin, OR. There are also possilbe plans there for connections to the proposed Pacific Connector pipeline to export the Rocky Mt. natural gas to Asian markets, thus driving up the price for CA consumers. This is the same El Paso natural gas corporation that jacked up the prices during the ENRON energy “crisis” where inflated natural gas prices nearly bankrupt the state and caused rolling blackouts.
Some news articles detailing El Paso Corp’s Ruby Pipeline and possible export related connections at Malin, OR with the proposed Pacific Connector pipeline…
The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/09/el_paso_corp_launches_680-mile.html
El Paso Corp. cuts the ribbon on 680-mile natural gas pipe line from Wyoming to Oregon
Published: Thursday, September 01, 2011,
The Mail Tribune
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110906/OPINION/109060302
Bait and switch: Gas export threatens Southern Oregon
September 06, 2011
By Lesley Adams
“The Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas proposal could be the riskiest energy project
Southern Oregon has ever seen. Originally billed as a necessary effort to import
energy, the corporations backing the proposal recently have admitted that they plan
to export U.S. gas overseas.
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The Federally Protected status of our WH&B COULD possibly pose a problem for the exploiters?
They all seemed to be awfully worried about the Sage Grouse.
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An expert told me that this is about PUBLIC RESOURCES FOR PRIVATE PROFIT!
And I also would that I could get everyone who cares for animals and the planet to breath in white light through the top of the head and send it back out through the chest/heart to everyone without discrimination, oneself first.
I suspect that evil would suddenly disappear.
Yes, I really do believe that – but then I just got kicked off a “Rescue” Facebook page for questioning the description of horse slaughter as an “honest death”, and then, I read an article about why a breeder of Arabs is working with “United Horseman” to get those American slaughterhouses open!
Are we all mad?
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I have said before and will say again—Wild mustang supporters, farms, sanctuary’s,etc. need to come together to either buy more land for mustang sanctuary’s or private farm land that millionaires own or can buy for a non-profit and let mustang people run it. It will take a very long time to fight for our mustangs and we will lose many before a positive legal action may occur. Adoption cost is low .. What is needed is money for vet care, transporting the mustangs , feed, water, horse people to work for the mustangs and have them to run free!! OR maybe even re-configure the holding pen areas for the better shelter & caring of the present mustangs..2 years in holding is like a death sentence for them!!
Land Management has failed so far… because it is Not being managed well!
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