Oil and gas leaseholders in sagebrush habitat have ties to Zinke, political staff and lobby group

Under Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s direction, the Bureau of the Land Management (BLM) announced that it is rewriting Western state sage-grouse plans, making fundamental changes, including eliminating habitat designations and other important protections that are the “foundation” of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s 2015 decision to not list sage-grouse as endeared. Many of these proposed changes came directly from an oil and gas lobby’s wish-list, which, as uncovered by Western Values Project, is shaping Secretary Zinke’s effort to roll-back the cooperative plans. An analysis of the oil and gas leases in sagebrush habitat highlight the top ten corporations who stand to benefit from Secretary Zinke’s proposal to undermine habitat protections.

“The unchecked influence by lobbyists and special interests on Secretary Zinke seems to be driving every decision at the department, putting at risk sagebrush habitat and rural western communities,” said Jayson O’Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project. “In between jet-setting around the country to attend political fundraisers, Secretary Zinke is taking time to do special favors for the oil and gas industry at the expense of our public lands.”

If the BLM adopts the proposed wholesale changes to the state habitat management plans, which Wyoming Governor Mead and several other western governors are steadfastly opposing, the oil and gas industry – and, in particular, companies that are members of Western Energy Alliance’s (WEA) Board of Directors and Advisors (referred to throughout as “WEA companies” [1])– would directly benefit.

Five of the Top 10 lease-owners in designated sage-grouse habitat are WEA companies. There are currently over 6.5 million acres of oil and gas leases in sage-grouse habitat designated for heightened protection under current BLM plans. Within this habitat, WEA companies are five of the largest lease-owners, including three of the four largest.

In Utah, Secretary Zinke is specifically targeting General Habitat Management Areas (GHMAs) for elimination – where WEA companies own over half of the leased acreage. In its announcement, Interior specifically questioned“the need for General Habitat Management areas in Utah,” which responds directly to one of WEA’s requests that BLM eliminate “overly burdensome” habitat designations. Not surprisingly, WEA companies own more than 54 percent of leased acres in Utah GHMAs – roughly 99,000 of 182,000 acres.

WEA Companies with the most to gain from gutting BLM’s Sage-Grouse Plans have deep ties to Secretary Zinke and DOI political appointees. Secretary Zinke accepted nearly $12,000 in campaign contributions from ExxonMobil between 2008 and 2016.  Secretary Zinke’s DOI political appointees and nominees also have longstanding ties with WEA Companies. Complete profiles of Interior political appointees and nominees are available at departmentofinfluence.org.

• Laura Keehner Rigas – current DOI Communications Director, former government liaison with the conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute, which receives major funding from Exxon Mobil.
• Amanda Kaster-Averill – current Senior Advisor to Secretary Zinke, formerly with the Bipartisan Policy Center, which lists “CEOs and executives” from Anadarko among its membership.
• Doug Domenech – nominee for Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs, formerly of the right-wing Texas Public Policy Foundation, which receives funding from Devon Energy.
• Susan Combs – nominee for Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, currently with the Texas Public Policy Foundation.