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Lisa McGee

After graduating from Miami University in Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, Lisa worked as a ranger naturalist in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. In 2004, she graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming College of Law, where she focused on public lands and natural resource law. She served as a law clerk for a superior court judge in Anchorage, Alaska before returning to Wyoming in June 2005 to direct the Outdoor Council’s national parks and forests program. The majority of Lisa’s work has focused on oil and gas leasing and development proposals on the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s Wyoming Range. Lisa became the Outdoor Council’s program director in 2013, a position she held for nearly four years before becoming Executive Director in late 2017. She lives in Jackson with her husband and son.

Deal withdraws 24,000 acres in Wyoming Range from oil and gas drilling

Posted on by Lisa McGee

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In what made for an especially happy Fourth of July, a deal was struck to protect 24,000 acres in the Wyoming Range from oil and gas drilling. This is tremendous news and gets us one step closer to realizing the collective vision behind the 2009 Wyoming Range Legacy Act: To protect the wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities in our state’s namesake mountains, today and for future generations.

Our gratitude goes out to our partners at The Trust for Public Land for negotiating and the Wyss Foundation for funding the purchase and retirement of the last remaining valid, existing oil and gas leases in the Wyoming Range. Our gratitude also extends to Gov. Matt Mead for supporting this outcome. “The Wyoming Range offers vistas, great outdoor recreation and diverse wildlife habitat,” Gov. Mead said in a statement. “The BLM worked with these companies to close out these leases and provide a good balance of development and environmental considerations.”

Here’s the backstory:

In the 1990s, Stanley Energy had already acquired oil and gas leases in the Wyoming Range (see leases in green on map). It sought to acquire additional acreage in the national forest and nominated nearby parcels. Despite public opposition, in 2005 the U.S. Forest Service consented to lease more than 40,000 acres along the eastern edge of the Wyoming Range. The BLM auctioned the leases and Stanley Energy was among the high bidding companies (see leases in orange on map).

Protests and appeals lead by the Wyoming Outdoor Council and joined by citizens, sportsmen and outfitter partners were ultimately successful. The Forest Service and BLM were instructed to go back and remedy oversights made in the initial and improper decision to lease. If the values considered on the whole caused the Forest Service to make a different decision — a no leasing decision — the contested oil and gas leases could be cancelled.

Passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act in 2009 made clear that the fate of these 40,000 contested acres was in the hands of the Forest Service. The agency could authorize or cancel them based on a thorough and updated analysis. If the leases were cancelled, the high bidders would get their money back — and, more importantly, because the Act prohibits future oil and gas leasing, the area would never be leased again.

After more than a decade and two environmental impact statements, the Forest Service reached a final decision in early 2017. Thankfully, it was the right decision — one we worked hard to secure, and one we celebrated with our members and partners. The roughly 40,000 acres of contested leases would be cancelled and high bidders would be refunded their money.

Because the BLM cannot legally authorize oil and gas leases over the objection of the Forest Service when mineral leases underlie national forest land, the BLM is obligated to issue cancellation letters and refunds to the high bidders. In exchange for accepting the BLM’s decision to cancel the leases and refund the money Stanley Energy spent to bid on the 21,000 acres of contested oil and gas leases (orange), an offer was made that its 24,000 acres of valid, existing oil and gas leases (green) would be purchased.

Thanks to The Trust for Public Land’s work and the generosity of the Wyss Foundation, another 45,000 acres in the Wyoming Range will be forever protected for its wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. We couldn’t be more grateful.

 

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This map (click to enlarge) depicts more than 10 years of efforts to retire and remove oil and gas lease parcels from the Wyoming Range, where a broad coalition of citizens sought to protect the area for its unique wildlife and recreational opportunities. (Map created by the Wyoming Outdoor Council.) 

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Standing Together for Public Lands

Posted on by Lisa McGee

“The president stole your land.” That’s the stark message today over at patagonia.com.

We join Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and the vast majority of our fellow citizens to express our deep disapproval of President Trump’s recent decision to shrink the boundaries of two national monuments. His unprecedented move reduces Bears Ears National Monument by more than 1 million acres—or 85 percent, and it removes 900,000 acres from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument—effectively halving it.

These monuments are in Utah, but make no mistake: they belong to all of us. They are part of the proud legacy of public land ownership all Americans enjoy.  

Wyoming is home to our nation’s first national monument, Devils Tower. It’s also home to our first national forest and national park—the Shoshone and Yellowstone. At the Outdoor Council, we believe public lands are worth fighting for. They are essential to our quality of life today, and they’re a vital legacy to pass on to our kids and grandkids tomorrow.

At our 50th anniversary celebration in Lander this past September, we honored Yvon Chouinard with the Tom Bell Legacy Award. This award celebrated Yvon’s lifelong commitment to public lands, wildlife, and clean air and water. With that award, and now, we want to express our deep gratitude for Yvon’s and Patagonia’s unwavering support of grassroots conservation groups like ours—and the public lands we’re all working to protect.

 

The ONSHORE Act

Posted on by Lisa McGee

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Last week, we sent a letter to Representative Liz Cheney opposing draft legislation that would transfer management authority for oil and gas permitting on federal lands to the states while allowing energy developers to circumvent our nation’s bedrock environmental policy law.

The so-called ONSHORE Act (Opportunities for the Nation and State to Harness Onshore Resources Act) is now before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. If adopted, it would remove essential checks—including public input—that help create a balance between development and conservation on public lands.

Behind the ONSHORE Act is the complaint by some lawmakers that the permitting process for oil and gas development on federal land takes more time than on state or private land. But there’s good reason for this: these are lands owned by all Americans (not energy companies or other private entities) and they are managed for more than one use. Overseeing and analyzing the potential environmental harms of energy development on public health and important shared resources is going, by necessity, to take time.

Even so, there are ways of making the federal leasing and permitting process more efficient without abandoning our collective responsibility to protect the environment, as the ONSHORE Act would do.

In Wyoming and in the United States, we value our public lands for family outings, hunting, fishing, and camping. We also treasure wildlife, clean air, and clean water. Far from being at odds with economic development, these are values that attract and retain workers and greatly enhance our quality of life. People want to live and work in Wyoming and other places with accessible public lands because they know they and their children will breathe clear air, drink clean water, and experience unparalleled opportunities for recreation and exploration.

As we shared with Representative Cheney, the Wyoming Outdoor Council unequivocally opposes the ONSHORE Act because giving management authority to the states would eliminate essential public involvement—including Wyoming voices—in the process of issuing drilling permits. It would also allow states to make these decisions without first considering the potential environmental harms of oil and gas development on public health, wildlife, and other important shared resources.

Please contact Representative Cheney and tell her you oppose the ONSHORE Act.

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Ensuring Responsible Energy Development, Cleaner Air, & Healthier Communities

Posted on by Lisa McGee

Last week, a U.S. district court reinstated a commonsense rule to prevent the waste of natural gas on public lands. The court found the Trump administration’s attempt to suspend the rule without the required public input violated the law. The Outdoor Council was a party to this suit, and we’re happy to report that the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule is back in place—at least for now. The rule requires oil and gas companies to inspect and fix leaky, faulty equipment, and to operate in ways that reduce waste of our finite natural resources.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s attack on this rule is just one example of many attempted environmental rollbacks in recent weeks. Whether it’s scrapping the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, ending the moratorium on federal coal leasing, throwing out the BLM’s land management planning rule and its sage-grouse habitat protection measures, or failing to enforce rules that prevent the waste of natural gas, this administration’s agenda is clear: prioritizing fossil fuel development above all other values.

There’s good news, though. Regardless of this administration’s goals, our local, national, and global energy markets are going in the opposite direction. More and more companies are making decisions every day that are good for both the environment and their bottom lines.

Take ExxonMobil, the largest oil and gas producer in the United States. Just last month it announced a plan to voluntarily enhance its leak detection and repair protocols at its new and existing wells. In 2014, 10 leading gas companies formed the ONE Future Coalition to identify best practices for curbing methane leaks from natural gas infrastructure. And in Wyoming, companies like Jonah Energy have established leak detection and repair protocols that go far beyond what is required by the state and federal governments.These decisions are good for air quality and people’s health, and they are also good for the companies’ profits. The capture of fugitive methane gas—which, when leaked into the atmosphere, is a potent greenhouse gas pollutant—means more gas is kept in the pipeline as a marketable product. These are wise business decisions as these protocols often pay for themselves.

Even as we successfully defend the good rules and regulations put in place by the prior administration, the Wyoming Outdoor Council is also thinking ahead. We realize that political swings at the federal level create tremendous uncertainty, and ultimately delay progress to ensure clean air. That’s why we’re committed to a multi-year effort to urge Wyoming’s Department of Environmental Quality to expand leak detection and repair requirements to the entire state. Durable state-level pollution controls—coupled with the efforts of companies to “do it right”—means more responsible energy development, cleaner air, and healthier communities.

 

Posted in Air

A Public Lands Day for Wyoming

Posted on by Lisa McGee

It’s been a busy end of the summer for the Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition. Events in Laramie and Jackson together brought out some 600 people—a testament to how important public lands are to our quality of life and economy in Wyoming. These events and another upcoming one in Sheridan on September 30 are working.

We are not likely to see legislative attempts at the wholesale transfer of our public lands anytime soon. Thanks to engaged citizens like you, these lawmakers have gotten the message loud and clear. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other equally bad ideas. One, the Federal Lands Freedom Act H.R 3565, co-sponsored by our own Rep. Liz Cheney would turn over decisions about oil and gas leasing and permitting on BLM and national forest lands to the states. Bills like this one would be disastrous for recreation, wildlife, and balanced multiple uses of our public lands. The states could override the current multiple use mandate on our public lands in favor of drilling and other industrial uses. We will continue to track bad bills like this and offer ways for you to voice your opposition.

The Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition has drafted state-level legislation that we hope will find sponsors and pass this session. The bill states that “efforts to transfer large tracts of the federal public lands in this State into private or state control are contrary to the wishes of Wyoming people and the democratic values of freedom and access that define our Equality State.” It would also dedicate a new Wyoming state holiday: Public Lands Day to highlight the importance of public lands to the state, encourage volunteer stewardship activities and encourage schools to participate with a day off as a hunting and outdoor recreation day for our state’s school-age children.

 

First-Ever Public Comment for National Monument Designations

Posted on by Lisa McGee

In an unprecedented action, the Trump administration released more details today about its move to to undo National Monument designations throughout the West, including one monument dating back to 1924.

In a previous statement, President Donald Trump referred to National Monuments as “abuses” and vowed to “return control [of these lands] to the people.” The Wyoming Outdoor Council finds this statement both uninformed and misguided because these lands already do belong to all Americansand due to their monument designations, they are now properly protected.

This afternoon, the Department of the Interior announced it will hold its first-ever comment period for the public to provide input on monument designations throughout the West, including Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado, among many others.

The comment period is not yet open—it will open after May 12—you’ll hear from us again with details on how you can participate.

National Monuments are public lands and they are among our most precious national treasures. The National Monument designation is one of our nation’s core conservation tools, and it has helped make the United States’ public lands the envy of the world.

Our nation’s first National Monument was Devils Tower in Wyoming, designated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The Antiquities Act of 1906 created the National Monument designation for public lands and gave the power to the President of the United States to designate these monuments.

While Wyoming’s monuments are not included, we believe this action cuts to the heart of what public lands mean to us, our members, and our country—and this action is part of a larger ideological assault on our nation’s public lands.

Our primary goal is to ensure that public lands remain in public hands.

We’ll be in touch with more information for how you can take action.

Speak out!

Posted on by Lisa McGee

There’s a lot of bad news coming out of Washington these days, and Wyoming’s delegation needs to hear from you.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso is leading an effort to strip the BLM of its ability to reduce waste and deter pollution from oil and gas operations. After a long public process, the BLM has revised its decades-old rule related to natural gas waste on public lands—specifically it would require companies to fix leaky, faulty equipment and to reduce waste as much as possible. The rule, which was finalized late last year, is popular with the public. Common sense tells us that wasting finite natural resources has no benefit. It’s simply a bad practice that results in air pollution and lost revenue to the American people from royalties and severance taxes. According to estimates from the Western Values Project, Wyoming alone lost out on more than $60 million in royalties over the last five years due to venting, flaring, and unrepaired natural gas leaks on federal lands.

Some members of Congress are also trying to undo recent updates to the federal land planning process. Last year, the Bureau of Land Management released a rule that improved how the agency will plan for decisions made on our public lands. “Planning 2.0” as the BLM calls it, would ensure that the agency is more collaborative, more transparent, and more inclusive of citizen input. These improvements would move planning on BLM lands into the 21st century and are long overdue. Congress should not undo the years of work that got the BLM to this better place.

President Donald Trump has nominated Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Pruitt has close ties to the oil and gas industry, has sued the EPA on numerous occasions, and has repeatedly demonstrated that he is ideologically opposed to the EPA’s core mission. We need an administrator who is dedicated to protecting the American people from harmful air and water pollutants, and from the threats of climate change—not someone who is at odds with those goals.

What Can You Do?

Please call Rep. Liz Cheney and Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and make sure they hear your voice!

  1. Ask them to vote “no” when the Bureau of Land Management’s “Methane Waste Rule” and “Planning 2.0 Rule” are considered for repeal under the Congressional Review Act. If Congress uses this act, the BLM will be prohibited from ever passing the same or similar rules again.
  2. Sen. Barrasso has already voted in committee to allow Pruitt’s nomination to move to a full Senate vote. Tell Sen. Barrasso you disapprove of his vote, and urge Sen. Enzi to vote against the confirmation of Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator.

Senator John Barrasso Phone: (202) 224-6441

Representative Liz Cheney Phone: (202) 225-2311

Senator Mike Enzi Phone: (202) 224-3424

 

Victory in the Wyoming Range!

Posted on by Lisa McGee

Wyoming’s namesake mountain range is a landscape the Wyoming Outdoor Council and our partners have worked to protect for 10 years. Many of you will recall the controversial offering of some 40,000 national forest acres for oil and gas lease sale back in 2005-06. This unpopular decision resulted in the formation of a powerful coalition. Citizens, hunters, anglers, recreational users, wildlife enthusiasts, ranchers, labor union members, outfitters, tourism interests, and conservationists came together in a united effort to protect the Wyoming Range.

While the fate of these leases remained in limbo, we worked together to pass the Wyoming Range Legacy Act in 2009, bipartisan legislation that withdrew 1.2 million acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest from future oil and gas leasing. Three years later we came together again to find a solution to the threat posed by 136 natural gas wells in the Upper Hoback Basin. We helped raise $8.75 million to purchase and retire these valid, existing oil and gas leases.

The issue that started it all—the controversial and long-contested oil and gas leases—was the last to be resolved. The fate of these leases has always rested with the Forest Service. Five years ago, the agency made a good decision not to lease these acres, only to pull back when faced with legal challenges. Today, after years of careful additional analysis and consideration of input from thousands of citizens, the Forest Service is reissuing its no-leasing decision.

This decision approaches what we hope will be the end of a long chapter of uncertainty. Unfortunately, because the decision comes so close to the change in presidential administrations, it is still unclear whether it will persist. We will keep you posted. For now, however, a celebration is in order.

Warm regards,

Please Support ‘No Leasing’ Decision in the Wyoming Range!

Posted on by Lisa McGee

The U.S. Forest Service has at long last released a draft analysis for its final decision about the last remaining—and most controversial—oil and gas leases on the eastern slope of the Wyoming Range.

Please click here to voice your support for the agency’s preferred alternative: No Leasing.

It has never been more important to show broad public support for a “no leasing” decision. Please speak up today!

In order for comments to be most useful and to ensure they are considered prior to the final decision, please submit them by May 23, 2016.

  • Click here to read the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s media release.
  • Click here to see the draft analysis in its entirety.

Continue reading Please Support ‘No Leasing’ Decision in the Wyoming Range! →

A new plan for our oldest national forest

Posted on by Lisa McGee

Dear members and supporters,

Nearly ten years in the works, the Shoshone National Forest released its new long-term land-use plan today—and there’s a lot to be happy about.

The Shoshone is our country’s first national forest and it remains one of its wildest. As you might expect with a 2.4 million acre forest and tens of thousands of stakeholders, nobody got everything they wanted in this plan. That’s really the way it should be.

Cirque Reflection
Photo: © Scott Copeland Images

In the big picture—and a land use plan is just that: a big picture management framework—the Forest Service struck a balance that keeps management of the Shoshone on a good path and safeguards the wild, backcountry values that make it unique.

Our primary goal in this plan revision was to ensure that the Shoshone remains a place where wildlife continues to thrive, watersheds and air quality are protected, and people can go to experience unparalleled backcountry exploring, camping, hunting, and fishing.

We are pleased that large parts of the Shoshone are now designated as unsuitable for industrial oil and gas surface development. This was perhaps our biggest priority—and something we are grateful Governor Mead largely supported. And, although no wilderness recommendations were made, the highest quality backcountry areas will be managed for year-round, backcountry non-motorized recreation—something we fought hard to retain through the objection process last year.

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Photo: Rich Brame

If you’d like to commend the hardworking Shoshone National Forest staff, you can send an email to Joe Alexander, the forest supervisor.

I believe that as Americans we are privileged to share in the ownership of such vast and inspiring pubic lands. With this privilege, however, comes the responsibility to participate in the public processes that affect our shared public lands. With your steadfast support of the Outdoor Council and with your own individual actions—whether attending a meeting or writing letters—you have made your voice heard and have made a difference. Thank you.

Warm regards,
Lisa
Lisa McGee