An organization called Partnership for the West (PFTW) promises to do a myriad of things, including managing water resources better, getting public access to public lands, getting better paying jobs, and getting "common sense" laws and regulations into place, without really explaining how they will be accomplished. Although the group attempts to hide its anti-environmental agenda, they are not doing a very good job. PFTW recently sent a letter to western governors asking them to encourage the federal government to not list the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. It also coordinates the so-called Sage Grouse Conservation Task force whose coordinator, Jim Sims, is quoted as saying, "If science shows that sage grouse is truly on the verge of extinction, then the absolute worst thing we could do is subject the bird to the chocking hammerlock of the Endangered Species Act." He goes on to say, "These fringe activists [conservationists who support ESA listing] really want to use this law to take away private property, run farmers off their land, stop all natural resource development, raise energy prices, and turn back the clock on progress in the West." The organization targets the Endangered Species Act and supports the Bush administration's "Healthy Forests" Plan. It is openly hostile to federal land management, and feels the government is not as effective as private management. The group grew from a conference that included representatives from the American Land Rights Association, the Blue Ribbon Coalition, the Mountain States Legal Foundation, and People for the USA. The Executive Director, Jim Sims, led Vice-President Dick Cheney's secret energy task force that has come under tremendous scrutiny. He contends that environmentalists complicate and delay the process, while operating in so-called "sophisticated networks." PFTW is supported by a number of corporations, including Dow Chemical, Unocal, and Western Gas Resources. The group's actions may soon influence your state. Before this organization's "grassroots efforts" take hold, let's reveal Partnership for the West for what it is -- another industry-funded organization determined to develop and destroy our natural resources.

Ran 8/30/04