Hunters and anglers turn GOP "greener"
Republicans have often ignored the drilling concerns of environmentalists they view as left-wing radicals.
By Mike Soraghan
Denver Post Staff Writer
Washington - Hunters and anglers are increasingly joining environmentalists in efforts to block oil and natural- gas drilling and other development on wildlife-rich lands in the Rocky Mountain West.
Traditionally a Republican constituency, hunters and anglers have won over GOP lawmakers and land administrators in Washington who often view environmentalists as radicals aligned with the Democratic Party.
"We're beginning to see hunters and anglers weighing in in ways we haven't seen (in recent years)," said Chris Wood of Trout Unlimited.
In the past few weeks, pressure brought by hunting and fishing groups has helped drive a spate of measures blocking drilling in three areas of the Rocky Mountain West:
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., reversed his stance on drilling Montana's scenic Rocky Mountain Front.
Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., often a supporter of oil and gas development, came out against a drilling plan in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest, adding that there shouldn't be drilling in most national forests.
The Republican-controlled House passed a bill blocking drilling in the 101,000-acre Valle Vidal section of New Mexico's Carson National Forest.
In those and other cases, grassroots lobbying by hunters and anglers was not the only factor in the outcome of the proposals. But key Republicans on resource issues say that their opinions were crucial.
"Hunters and anglers have credibility with the chairman and the Republican members of the committee, whereas so- called environmentalists do not," said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for House Resources Committee chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., a frequent advocate of greater development on public lands. "We work with sportsmen constantly on everything we do."
Hunters and anglers also helped block a Bush administration plan to sell off national forest land and a Pombo-backed mining bill that critics said would have opened public land to development.
"The environmental community has no influence in this Congress, so when the sportsmen step up, they get listened to," said Paul Hansen of the Izaak Walton League, a hunting and fishing conservation group.
In Colorado, hunters and anglers have joined landowners and conservationists to protest the leasing of 20,000 acres of roadless areas for oil and gas.
They've also been active in opposing drilling on public land atop the wildlife-rich Roan Plateau.
On such issues, sportsmen and anglers and environmentalists sometimes conduct joint national campaigns, or form local coalitions that also include landowners and ranchers.
At other times they run separate campaigns with parallel goals.
The two forces are doing more to reach out to each other on common land-use goals.
The Sierra Club two years ago started to "rebuild bridges with the sportsmen's community," said hunting and fishing program director Bart Semcer. "For those of us who hunt and fish, public land is the backbone of access."
The club hosted a "Clean Water Summit" this year for hunters and anglers and joined Orion Hunters Institute in taking out newspaper ads opposing the administration plan to sell forest land.
In Montana's fight to protect the Rocky Mountain Front - a convergence of mountains and plains that stretches in a 50-mile swath for more than 200 linear miles of Alberta and Montana - a coalition of hunters, anglers, ranchers and others approached environmentalists for help in organizing and lobbying, said Chris Mehl of the Wilderness Society.
"They said, 'What can you do for us? We want to do this. We're willing to work with you,"' Mehl said. "You've got to have friends if you want to get things done."
Some hunters and anglers even say the GOP is starting to lose their support because of its aggressive drilling policies.
The Bush administration has approved intense drilling in areas such as southwest Wyoming, which has crucial winter range for mule deer, elk and antelope.
It's also poised to approve drilling atop Colorado's Roan Plateau, which is home to large herds of game and the rare Colorado River cutthroat trout.
"Most hunters have tended to go to the Republican side," Eddie Kochman, a former Colorado Division of Wildlife employee from Northglenn who has worked on behalf of Republican candidates. "You're talking to one that's shifting. Republicans are sensing that."
Administration officials say they do listen to hunters and anglers. "There's no doubt they're becoming more influential. We're trying to address their issues," said Jim Hughes of the Bureau of Land Management, which manages vast areas of the West popular with drillers, as well as hunters and anglers.
Shortly before she left her post as Interior secretary in March, Gale Norton created a "Sporting Conservation Council" to advise the department on hunting and fishing issues, including the effects of oil and gas development.
There are also plenty of hunters unfazed by oil and gas development. "It's a little hypocritical for us to jump in our 4-by-4 trucks pulling a trailer and say we don't need any gasoline," said Don Peay, founder of Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, a Western hunting organization.
The National Rifle Association, which says it represents more hunters than any other group, believes that working with environmental groups is a fool's bargain for hunters.
"There are environmental groups like the Sierra Club who claim to represent hunters but continually support anti-hunting candidates," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist. "They are intent on destroying our hunting heritage."
Democrats, who have downplayed gun control as an issue in recent years, are reaching out to hunters upset by the Bush administration's pro-drilling, pro-development agenda. "People are saying if we follow it to its logical conclusion, the areas we hunted with our fathers won't be accessible," said Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
Republicans have often ignored the drilling concerns of environmentalists they view as left-wing radicals.
By Mike Soraghan
Denver Post Staff Writer
Washington - Hunters and anglers are increasingly joining environmentalists in efforts to block oil and natural- gas drilling and other development on wildlife-rich lands in the Rocky Mountain West.
Traditionally a Republican constituency, hunters and anglers have won over GOP lawmakers and land administrators in Washington who often view environmentalists as radicals aligned with the Democratic Party.
"We're beginning to see hunters and anglers weighing in in ways we haven't seen (in recent years)," said Chris Wood of Trout Unlimited.
In the past few weeks, pressure brought by hunting and fishing groups has helped drive a spate of measures blocking drilling in three areas of the Rocky Mountain West:
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., reversed his stance on drilling Montana's scenic Rocky Mountain Front.
Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., often a supporter of oil and gas development, came out against a drilling plan in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest, adding that there shouldn't be drilling in most national forests.
The Republican-controlled House passed a bill blocking drilling in the 101,000-acre Valle Vidal section of New Mexico's Carson National Forest.
In those and other cases, grassroots lobbying by hunters and anglers was not the only factor in the outcome of the proposals. But key Republicans on resource issues say that their opinions were crucial.
"Hunters and anglers have credibility with the chairman and the Republican members of the committee, whereas so- called environmentalists do not," said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for House Resources Committee chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., a frequent advocate of greater development on public lands. "We work with sportsmen constantly on everything we do."
Hunters and anglers also helped block a Bush administration plan to sell off national forest land and a Pombo-backed mining bill that critics said would have opened public land to development.
"The environmental community has no influence in this Congress, so when the sportsmen step up, they get listened to," said Paul Hansen of the Izaak Walton League, a hunting and fishing conservation group.
In Colorado, hunters and anglers have joined landowners and conservationists to protest the leasing of 20,000 acres of roadless areas for oil and gas.
They've also been active in opposing drilling on public land atop the wildlife-rich Roan Plateau.
On such issues, sportsmen and anglers and environmentalists sometimes conduct joint national campaigns, or form local coalitions that also include landowners and ranchers.
At other times they run separate campaigns with parallel goals.
The two forces are doing more to reach out to each other on common land-use goals.
The Sierra Club two years ago started to "rebuild bridges with the sportsmen's community," said hunting and fishing program director Bart Semcer. "For those of us who hunt and fish, public land is the backbone of access."
The club hosted a "Clean Water Summit" this year for hunters and anglers and joined Orion Hunters Institute in taking out newspaper ads opposing the administration plan to sell forest land.
In Montana's fight to protect the Rocky Mountain Front - a convergence of mountains and plains that stretches in a 50-mile swath for more than 200 linear miles of Alberta and Montana - a coalition of hunters, anglers, ranchers and others approached environmentalists for help in organizing and lobbying, said Chris Mehl of the Wilderness Society.
"They said, 'What can you do for us? We want to do this. We're willing to work with you,"' Mehl said. "You've got to have friends if you want to get things done."
Some hunters and anglers even say the GOP is starting to lose their support because of its aggressive drilling policies.
The Bush administration has approved intense drilling in areas such as southwest Wyoming, which has crucial winter range for mule deer, elk and antelope.
It's also poised to approve drilling atop Colorado's Roan Plateau, which is home to large herds of game and the rare Colorado River cutthroat trout.
"Most hunters have tended to go to the Republican side," Eddie Kochman, a former Colorado Division of Wildlife employee from Northglenn who has worked on behalf of Republican candidates. "You're talking to one that's shifting. Republicans are sensing that."
Administration officials say they do listen to hunters and anglers. "There's no doubt they're becoming more influential. We're trying to address their issues," said Jim Hughes of the Bureau of Land Management, which manages vast areas of the West popular with drillers, as well as hunters and anglers.
Shortly before she left her post as Interior secretary in March, Gale Norton created a "Sporting Conservation Council" to advise the department on hunting and fishing issues, including the effects of oil and gas development.
There are also plenty of hunters unfazed by oil and gas development. "It's a little hypocritical for us to jump in our 4-by-4 trucks pulling a trailer and say we don't need any gasoline," said Don Peay, founder of Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, a Western hunting organization.
The National Rifle Association, which says it represents more hunters than any other group, believes that working with environmental groups is a fool's bargain for hunters.
"There are environmental groups like the Sierra Club who claim to represent hunters but continually support anti-hunting candidates," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist. "They are intent on destroying our hunting heritage."
Democrats, who have downplayed gun control as an issue in recent years, are reaching out to hunters upset by the Bush administration's pro-drilling, pro-development agenda. "People are saying if we follow it to its logical conclusion, the areas we hunted with our fathers won't be accessible," said Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
