American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2020 - 19

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IndustryDigest
and as I have reiterated for years,
monuments should be as small as
possible to protect artifacts and cultural
resources," offers Utah Governor Gary
Herbert. "And they should not be
created over the objections of local
communities. I am happy to see the
administration develop management
plans that protect areas with sensitive
artifacts and yet still provide a way to
use these lands for recreation, grazing
and management practices that will
keep the lands healthy." ❒

Wyoming Establishes
Procedure To Designate
Migration Corridors
CASPER, WY.-The Petroleum
Association of Wyoming has signaled
qualified support for an executive order
signed Feb. 13 by Governor Mark
Gordon intended to preserve migration
routes utilized by big game herds in
Wyoming while also protecting
landowner rights and accommodating
multiple-use opportunities.
"PAW supports Governor Gordon's
stated desire to pre-empt federal
government overreach on statemanaged wildlife and the need to end
federal deferrals of oil and natural gas
lease sales," the association states.
"Like the governor, we believe
Wyoming elected officials-not
Washington bureaucrats-are best able to
balance the need to protect our wildlife
with the need to produce the energy that
powers our lives. The governor's
executive order appropriately seeks to
keep Wyoming in charge of its own
resources and destiny."
However, PAW continues, "The oil
and natural gas industry is at a
crossroads in Wyoming. Persistent low
prices, global instability and expanding
regulatory burdens make exploration
and production increasingly difficult.
We appreciate that the governor
meaningfully engaged PAW in the
process of developing his executive
order. We look forward to a thoughtful
implementation that recognizes the
need for balance and avoids further
regulatory creep."
Wyoming Executive Order 2020-1
designates Sublette Mule Deer, Baggs
Mule Deer and Platte Valley Mule Deer
migration corridors, which may be
viewed at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/wildlife-

in-wyoming/migration. It also
establishes a process for designating
additional migration corridors.
That process includes the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department (WGFD)
identifying potential migration corridors
and submitting to the Wyoming Game
and Fish Commission (WGFC) a
publicly-available report that identifies
the location, acreage and land
ownership of various components of the
corridor, the underlying scientific
information and a biological risk
assessment. After obtaining public
input, the WGFC will submit the
proposed migration corridor to the
governor, who will appoint an area
working group composed of various
stakeholders.
EO 2020-1 calls for the working
group to make a recommendation to the
governor after evaluating the WGFD's
risk assessment and corridor
components, along with potential socioeconomic impacts, conservation
opportunities, highway projects and
other appropriate factors. Then, the
governor may designate the
recommended corridor formally, return
the recommendation to WGFD for
further refinement or formally reject the

proposal.
Finally, EO 2020-1 calls for
establishing a second area working
group within five years after a migration
corridor has been established to review
its effectiveness.
"I believe we have crafted an
excellent approach," Governor Gordon
says of EO 2020-1. "People in
Wyoming love their wildlife and love
their jobs, and we can do both. We are
leading the nation in this effort." ❒

BLM Removes Acreage
From Colorado Leasing
LAKEWOOD, CO.-The Bureau of
Land Management has removed 8,700
acres from its March 26 oil and gas
lease sale in Colorado, citing litigation
concerns. The agency says the affected
acreage lies in Moffat, Rio Blanco,
Jackson and Mesa counties. The lease
sale now covers 30,548 acres, BLM
says, all in Jackson and Las Animas
counties.
A lawsuit challenging the BLM's
Grand Junction field office's resource
management plan led to the decision to

2018 Gunslinger Scott Freshwater (left) presents the Independent Oil and Gas Association
of West Virginia's 2019 Gunslinger Award, which recognizes contributions to the West
Virginia natural gas and oil industry over an extended period, to Marc Monteleone during
the association's winter meeting, held Jan. 21-22 in Charleston, W.V. Monteleone, who
served as IOGAWV president in 2017-18, is a partner in and chief financial officer for the
Charleston law office Bowles Rice. He also owns Mountain Lion Enterprises Inc. and
Tygart River Oil & Gas LLC, and serves as general counsel to Waco Oil & Gas Inc.
Coverage of IOGAWV's winter meeting begins on page 88.

MARCH 2020 19

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/wildlife-in-wyoming/migration https://wgfd.wyo.gov/wildlife-in-wyoming/migration

American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2020

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