DENVER, CO — Recent reports have noted that the Department of Interior continues to process oil and gas leases onshore and offshore and to conduct normal business on behalf of the energy industry during the ongoing federal government shutdown. In light of this news, Tracy Stone-Manning, the National Wildlife Federation’s associate vice president for public lands, issued the following statement:

“Our iconic national parks are depending on hundreds of volunteers to prevent trash from overwhelming trails and wildlife habitat, while the Department of Interior is providing hundreds of unpaid federal staff to ensure it's business as usual for the oil and gas industry—without informing the public on how to participate in those decisions. America and our public lands and waters deserve so much better than this state of affairs.”