gov matt mead wyo

disambig see main<div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">wvp 2017</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small;"><p class="p1" style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239); margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke released his <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/so3353_memo_coverletter_report_080717.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;">review</a> of the greater sage-grouse conservation plan. The original conservation plan was implemented two years ago after extensive work and collaboration by a bipartisan group of Western stakeholders, including federal, state and local governments, as well as ranchers, farmers, sports groups, conservationists and industry representatives.</font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: none; margin: 1.5em 0px 55px; padding: 0px 30px; position: relative; line-height: 2em;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">This order is another reckless decision made by special interests and Washington politicians behind closed doors – it is a clear giveaway to industry that undermines years of work by Western governors, communities and stakeholders,” <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">said Chris Saeger, Executive Director of the Western Values Project.</b> “These irresponsible changes will not only put this species at risk, but will jeopardize access to public lands and the outdoor economy that Western communities rely on. Secretary Zinke’s careless plan ignores bipartisan, science based results, and could well fast-track the greater sage-grouse’s listing as an endangered species.”</font></p></blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239); margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 2em;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Background:</font></b></p><p style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239); margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After years of work and cooperation by federal agencies, Western states and diverse stakeholders, a plan was released in 2015 to conserve habitat for the greater sage-grouse to avoid listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service specifically <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/10/02/2015-24292/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-12-month-finding-on-a-petition-to-list-greater" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;">cited</a> habitat preservation as the reason for removing the bird from consideration.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239);">This year,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> Republican Governor of Wyoming Matt Mead </span><span style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239);">and Democratic Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper sent </span><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/04/donald-trump-greater-sage-grouse-ryan-zinke/" style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239); text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;">two letters</a><span style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239);"> to Secretary Zinke opposing changes to the plan. Neither letter has received a public response from the Secretary.</span></b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Western Governors met with Secretary Zinke behind closed doors at their annual Western Governors Association meeting about the imperiled bird. Again, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/06/27/stories/1060056650" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;">urging</a> the Secretary not to make wholesale changes to the plans. Those requests where ignored.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(242, 241, 239); margin: 0px 0px 25px; box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act would result in numerous lawsuits from both sides of the issue, and prohibit development across a wide swath of public land.</font></p></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/01/25/american-fuel-petrochemical-manufacturers-rallied-republican-governors-trump-rollback-auto-standards" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/01/25<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">/american-fuel-petrochemical-manufacturers</span>-rallied-republican-governors-trump-rollback-auto-standards</a></font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">no lnx many</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>
</b></font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>How This Oil Refiners Group Rallied GOP Governors' Support for Trump’s Rollback of Auto Standards</b></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>
</div><div>By Ben Jervey • Friday, <b>January 25, 2019 </b></div><div>
</div><div>As the Trump administration worked to revise and relax federal fuel economy and emissions standards for cars and light trucks, an oil refiners trade group worked connections with Republican governors to rally support for the proposed rollback.</div><div>
</div><div>Emails obtained by Documented, a watchdog group that tracks corporate influence in government, revealed that the<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) were actively recruiting Republican Governors </span>to sign onto a public comment letter supporting the weaker CAFE (corporate average fuel efficiency) standards, while also “<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">shopping around” a pre-written op-ed with language borrowed from the <b>American Energy Alliance</b>, a free market advocacy group run by a former Koch Industries lobbyist.  </span></div><div>
</div><div>A blockbuster New York Times investigation published in December revealed how AFPM, using a front group called Energy4US, deployed Facebook advertisements to prompt thousands of identical public comments filed in the Federal Register supporting the proposed rule. An earlier article on the <b>Facebook ads</b> by ProPublica had linked <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">AFPM to Energy4US,</span> and researchers at DeSmog's KochvsClean had since connected the front group to more than one-quarter of all public comments that the Department of Transportation (DOT) had received on the proposed rule, while also revealing that the Consumer Energy Alliance was connected to the campaign.</div><div>
</div><div>In addition to the more than 3,000 identical comments, the emails obtained by Documented through a number of state open records requests revealed a much broader influence campaign.</div><div>
</div><div><b>Email messages show AFPM representatives reaching out to the staff of Republican governors, soliciting signatures for a formal letter that was eventually submitted to the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency</b> (EPA). In another email, AFPM’s Senior Vice President of Federal and Regulatory Affairs <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">shared a pre-written draft of an<b> op-ed with the Wyoming Governor's office,</b> asking if Governor Matt Mead would consider putting his name on it.</span></div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>How AFPM Rallied Republican Governors to Support the Rollback</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>AFPM deployed the corporate-backed Republican Governors Association (RGA</b>) and their policy arm, the Republican Governors Public Policy Committee (RGPPC), which helped circulate the letter. AFPM contributed more than $200,000 to RGA during the 2018 election cycle, according to IRS filings.</span></div></div></div>