U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Improvements to 50 Year-old Regulations

By Justin Stakes

Changes Will Ensure Implementation of Best Management Practices and Industry Standards for Responsible Energy Development and the Conservation of Wildlife and Their Habitats.

Washington, DC -(AmmoLand.com)- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to update 50 year-old regulations governing the management of non-federal oil and gas development on National Wildlife Refuge System lands.

The proposed revisions continue to allow for the responsible extraction of oil and gas, but require closer adherence to industry best management practices – especially with respect to abandoned infrastructure and debris.

Private individuals and other entities retain ownership of subsurface minerals on many Service lands, including national wildlife refuges, and have the legal right to develop those resources. The regulations will reduce refuge impacts, including habitat loss and degradation, wildlife mortality and displacement, and other risks to ecological integrity.

“These proposed rule revisions strike an appropriate balance between the rights of owners to develop energy resources with the Service’s critical role in protecting refuges …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand