Teddy Roosevelt once said, “We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so.” Of those resources, “the conservation president” often referred to our national parks as our country’s best idea and pushed hard to protect these natural wonders in perpetuity.
Related: Republican Party Platform Now Includes Selling Off Your Public Lands
Those eternal protections are now in jeopardy after Congressman Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) submitted a bill on Monday to repeal “9B“ rules that provide a regulatory framework for oil and gas drilling operations within our National Parks. The bill is just the most recent maneuver in a long line of Republican actions to free up public lands for oil and gas exploration.
“These challenges are direct attacks on America’s national parks. Each of these rules provides the commonsense protections for national parks that millions of Americans demand. If the Park Service’s drilling rules are repealed, national parks across the country would be subjected to poorly regulated oil and gas drilling, threatening parks’ air, water and wildlife.” –Nicholas Lund, Senior Manager of National Parks Conservation Association’s Conservation Programs
Following a repeal, oil and gas companies would be allowed to run amok with little more than base-level, state regulations. That result seems to be counter-intuitive, seeing as our national parks are funded and protected by federal tax dollars. Furthermore, the NPS would have virtually no control or authority of drilling operations within park boundaries.
*If you oppose this action, we recommend you visit the office of your republican representative in person. Speaking from experience, letters and calls do almost nothing.
Find out more here: House Moves to Encourage Drilling in National Parks