TC Resolution 21-11 Supporting President Biden's Pause on New Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Public LandsAvon
COLORADO
RESOLUTION 21-11
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT BIDEN'S PAUSE ON NEW
OIL AND GAS LEASING ON FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS
WHEREAS, our vast network of federal public lands offers abundant natural beauty, a wealth of
natural resources, a vital economic engine for local communities, and a sought after unique
quality of life for residents of communities adjacent to them; and
WHEREAS, it's critical that our public lands and waters are managed responsibly and
sustainably so they can remain open and accessible to present and future generations; and
WHEREAS, we support the legal requirement that our federal lands be managed under the
`multiple use' standard to best meet the present and future needs of the American people; and
believe that the federal land management policies should be developed with input from local
communities and public land users, and incorporate the best available science; and
WHEREAS, federal public land policy should ensure that the companies extracting natural
resources provide a fair return to federal and state taxpayers while also protecting wildlife and
providing the opportunity for the development of sustainable economic non -extractive activity
such as outdoor recreation; and
WHEREAS, our state is experiencing the devastating impacts of a warming climate including
severe heat and drought, which are making wildfires more frequent and extreme; an increase in
emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas emitted on our public lands; extremes in
precipitation; and dust on snow, which causes snowfall to evaporate prematurely; and
WHEREAS, one -quarter of the country's greenhouse gas emissions come from fossil fuel activity
on public lands; and
WHEREAS, in 2018 pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels caused 8.7 million or one in five
deaths ley; and
WHEREAS, as elected leaders, it is our responsibility to take and support prudent and pragmatic
steps to reverse climate change and mitigate its devastating impacts by reducing the amount of
greenhouse gases and other forms of pollution that contribute to climate change,
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Avon Town Council, that we applaud the
Biden administration's executive order that temporarily pauses new oil and gas leasing on
federal public lands and encourage the administration to:
a. Modernize the federal oil and gas leasing program to ensure the oil and gas
companies that hold leases and extract natural resources provide a fair return to federal and
state taxpayers; and
Res 21-11 Support of President Biden's Pause on New Oil & Gas Leasing on Federal Lands
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b. Develop a plan to phase out the production of fossil fuels, which are a major
contributor to climate change, in a way that also supports the workers, communities, and
states that currently have fossil fuel dependent economies.
ADOPTED this 11th day of May 2021.
AVON OWN COUN IL
By: Attest:
Sarah Smrt Aymes,Ma o
Brenda Torres, Town
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