Take Action: Grizzly Bears in Peril

Grizzly Bears in Peril

Tell the Bush administration to protect crucial grizzly bear habitat in Montana's Beartooth Mountain region.

Mary Bloom, SEIS Project Manager

Dear Ms. Bloom,

(Edit Letter Below)

I want to express my concern over a new Bureau of Land Management plan that threatens to cause serious damage to Montana's natural heritage. I urge you to withdraw the BLM's proposed draft for the amendment of the Powder River and Billings Resource Management Area and draft supplement to the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). Instead, please develop a new proposal that protects Montana's natural values, including sensitive habitat for grizzly bears and other wildlife, as well as local communities in southeastern Montana.

The draft SEIS would lease crucial grizzly bear habitat on the flanks of Montana's Beartooth Mountains for coalbed methane development. Among other significant environmental impacts, this type of development generally entails construction of a dense network of access roads, which harm bears by fragmenting habitat and increasing the likelihood of human-bear conflicts. If allowed, such development would displace and disturb grizzlies, prevent continued expansion into suitable habitat and increase the likelihood of grizzly mortality, as explained in the wildlife appendix to the SEIS.

In addition, the BLM's preferred alternative is not a true phased development, does not fully analyze the cumulative effects posed by the project and does not adequately address aquifer and private water-well mitigation problems. Please withdraw this proposal and develop a new plan that addresses these issues, including prohibiting all leasing and development in occupied and suitable grizzly habitat in the Beartooths and adjacent wildlands.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

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