If you live in a rural or Western state, this issue probably feels personal. Vehicle encounters with deer, elk, or other wildlife on the road aren’t rare and when they happen, the consequences can be serious or even deadly for drivers and passengers, not to mention the animals themselves. Every year, wildlife-vehicle collisions injure thousands of Americans and kill millions of animals. The costs of these crashes don’t stop there; car repairs are expensive, insurance premiums rise, and emergency responses are costing taxpayers millions. The good news is that many of these accidents are preventable. A Solution That Works Wildlife crossings, overpasses, underpasses, and strategic fencing aren’t experimental ideas. They’re proven infrastructure solutions already saving lives across the country. When placed correctly, wildlife crossings can reduce collisions by up to 97 percent. That means safer roads for families, fewer emergency calls in rural areas, less vehicle damage, and healthier wildlife populations that can move safely across the landscape. It’s a practical approach that protects people and respects the land without new mandates or unnecessary red tape. Why Action Is Needed Now The federal Wildlife Road Crossings Program is set to expire this year. If Congress doesn’t act, ongoing and planned projects in Montana, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and communities across the country could be delayed or abandoned. States, Tribes, and local governments need certainty in order to plan and complete these multi-year safety projects. Permanently authorizing this program would provide that stability, ensuring communities can follow through on solutions that are already working. Bipartisan Leadership, Commonsense Results H.R. 6078 is led by U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (R–MT) and U.S. Representative Don...
CRS Releases New Report Exposing the Massive Taxpayer Risks of Bonding Rollbacks Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship has released a new in-depth report, Unplugged: The High Cost of Bonding Reform Rollbacks, revealing how the Trump administration’s plan to weaken federal oil and gas bonding requirements could leave American taxpayers responsible for up to $753.5 billion in cleanup costs on public lands. This new analysis comes at a critical moment. Recent federal actions, especially provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, have opened more than 200 million acres of public lands to oil and gas development. Under these new policies, companies could potentially drill as many as 3.8 million new wells across the West. Yet the administration is also preparing to roll back the 2024 bonding reforms that were designed to ensure companies, not taxpayers, pay to plug and reclaim those wells. A Return to an Unfair, Outdated System For decades, inadequate bonding allowed irresponsible operators to walk away from their cleanup obligations, often by filing strategic bankruptcies or shifting ownership to shell companies. The Bureau of Land Management stepped in last year with long-overdue reforms, raising minimum bond amounts for the first time in more than sixty years, to protect taxpayers from exactly this kind of abuse. Rolling back those reforms now would return us to a system that has already failed taxpayers for generations. With bonds averaging just $1,707 per well, there is no realistic mechanism to cover the actual $35,000–$200,000 cost of plugging a modern well. The financial gap gets passed directly to communities and taxpayers. CRS President David Jenkins put it plainly: weakening bonding requirements “enables...
The Trump Administration’s Plan to Roll Back Oil and Gas Bonding Requirements Will Cost Taxpayers Billions, New Analysis Shows Lowering Bond Amounts Will Risk Leaving Taxpayers on the Hook to Pay Billions to Clean Up Industry’s Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells on National Public Lands. Open...
Ratepayer Revolt Report Open...
One of the first moves President Trump made in his second term was to declare a “National Energy Emergency.” This executive order leans heavily on the claim that the previous administration shut down U.S. fossil fuel production and left America dependent on foreign energy. But that narrative simply isn’t true. In reality, over the past four years, U.S. crude oil production soared to a record-breaking 13 million barrels per day — the highest ever, surpassing even Saudi Arabia. Natural gas production is also at an all-time high, with the U.S. leading the world by producing 41.2 million cubic feet in 2023 alone. So why declare an energy emergency when the country is producing more energy than ever? This move takes us into a confusing and dangerous place where “up” is “down” and “shortage” means “abundance.” The consequences of this declaration are unfolding quickly. The Department of Interior has announced new permitting rules that aim to sidestep key environmental protections, like the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Public lands—places many Americans treasure for outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, and hiking—are suddenly up for grabs for more oil and gas drilling. Beyond public lands, this order could even threaten private property rights by encouraging federal agencies to use eminent domain to force landowners to give up property for energy development. At a time when U.S. oil production is at historic highs and oil companies are already profiting handsomely, this raises serious concerns about fairness and property rights. But the bigger issue is this: Energy markets don’t respond to political orders. They respond to geology and economics. U.S....
