Two conservation organizations have filed a formal appeal challenging a federal decision that would open Conecuh National Forest to oil and gas drilling, arguing the move threatens rare wildlife and violates multiple environmental laws.
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Alabama Ornithological Society submitted the appeal Wednesday, asking the Interior Board of Land Appeals to halt a Bureau of Land Management decision that would allow thousands of acres within the national forest to be included in an oil and gas lease sale. The BLM’s move, announced in June, followed the U.S. Forest Service’s determination that additional drilling in Conecuh would not have significant environmental effects.
Conecuh National Forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and lies in south Alabama near Andalusia and Brewton, close to the Florida state line. The forest is known for its longleaf pine woodlands and wetlands, and it provides habitat for a range of species, some of which are considered rare or imperiled.
In the appeal, the groups allege the Bureau of Land Management violated the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. They claim the agency failed to formally consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, did not prepare an environmental impact statement, and did not properly evaluate alternatives or establish an environmental baseline before approving the lease sale plan.
The appeal also argues that the alleged National Environmental Policy Act violations caused the bureau to fall short of its obligation under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to prevent “unnecessary or undue degradation” of public land.
The filing frames the appeal as a last chance to stop widespread drilling across the forest. “This appeal represents Appellants’ final opportunity to challenge—and hopefully avert—extensive oil and gas development in the Conecuh National Forest, the environmental consequences of which will be severe and adverse, and the last chance to have those consequences examined on a forest-wide scale,” the appeal states, warning that if the board denies a stay, the bureau could immediately proceed with lease sales across the entire forest.
“It’s appalling that the government is barreling forward to sacrifice the Conecuh National Forest to the oil and gas industry for profit,” Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Lindsay Reeves said in a statement.
Reeves said the “fragile forest houses some of the nation’s most imperiled wildlife, who depend on the Conecuh to survive. The forest is a biological and recreational oasis that needs to be protected, not plundered.”
The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit founded in 1989, describes its mission as working “to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.” The organization has long opposed expanded drilling in the forest. The Alabama Ornithological Society, a statewide group focused on birds and their habitats, joined the appeal as a co-appellant.
The push to open Conecuh to drilling comes as the Trump administration has pursued what it calls a “Golden Era of American Energy Dominance,” expanding access to oil and gas development on federal land. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been an outspoken critic of regulations targeting greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, as well as state-level oversight of oil drilling.
The Interior Board of Land Appeals, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, reviews administrative appeals of decisions made by agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management. Its ruling on whether to grant a stay will determine whether lease sales for drilling in Conecuh National Forest can move forward while the broader appeal is considered.