WASHINGTON (May 16, 2007) - Today Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced a bill, the “Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act,” that is an important step toward restoring balance on our public lands.

Over the past six years, oil and gas development has become the predominant use of the public lands wherever these resources may potentially exist. The extraction of oil and gas has been prioritized to the detriment of our wildlife, fisheries, recreation, and cultural and wilderness resources.

Because of the damage to our public lands that has already occurred, it is hugely important that the administration reassesses its approach to oil and gas development. This bill could not come at a more critical time for our public lands, communities, and wildlife.

The provisions in the new bill suggest that the Committee on Natural Resources clearly heard the voices of Westerners who called for an appropriate balance between oil and gas development and protection of other key resources of our western public lands. It is possible to make oil and gas from public lands available to the American people while protecting the last remaining wild places in the American West, the wildlife that inhabit these lands, the quality of the West’s air and water, and the property rights of ranchers and farmers. The reforms in the Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act will begin to restore the balance so badly needed in the management of our public lands. We look forward to working with Chairman Rahall and other leaders to pass it.