Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert blasted the Biden-Harris administration for its plans to protect an “ugly” animal in her home state.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it planned to conserve public lands in Colorado in an effort to protect the Gunnison sage-grouse, a bird designated as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
The Republican Representative took issue with these plans, and ranted that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — as well as former president Barack Obama — have been trying to protect this bird’s “ugly, non-endangered cousin,” the Greater Sage-Grouse.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and the radical progressives in charge of BLM are attempting to lock up our public lands from critical uses like oil & gas exploration,” Boebert told Newsweek. “Instead of putting Coloradans first, they’re continuing to bend the knee to Green New Deal worshippers who want to destroy Colorado’s oil & gas industry and the tens of thousands of good-paying jobs that support families across the state.”
“Obama, Biden and Harris have tried to use the Gunnison Sage-Grouse’s ugly, non-endangered cousin, the Greater Sage-Grouse, to lock up more than 183 million acres in the West,” she continued. This species is considered “near threatened” by the World Wildlife Fund.
Boebert also vowed to “fight this newest land grab just like I’ve done for every ridiculous attempt from the Biden-Harris Administration and BLM to damage our economy.”
While Boebert pointed fingers at Democrats for the plan, the BLM’s announcement noted that the recovery plan for the threatened species was approved in 2020 — when Donald Trump was president.
The Republican Congresswoman also expressed fear that the conservation plan was going to interfere with gas and oil business in the region.
BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack issued a statement on October 17: “BLM is at the forefront of wildlife conservation in Colorado by aligning oil and gas management in big game habitat with strong State rules and advancing a separate plan that will limit disturbance in the habitat of the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse.”
The bureau also noted that it manages roughly 85 per cent of acres “with high potential open for future oil and gas leasing while low and medium potential areas are largely closed to leasing.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
