PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sean Cooley, Communications Manager, (850) 999-1030, scooley@audubon.org 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 8, 2018) - The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program is hosting public meetings across the country to engage the public on proposed offshore oil and gas drilling expansions. Today’s only public meeting in Florida by the Bureau is at the Four Points by Sheraton in Tallahassee. In preparation for this public meeting, Audubon Florida Interim Executive Director Julie Wraithmell released the following statement:

"Florida’s Atlantic Coast and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico are no place for dangerous offshore drilling. Our state is home to some of the most beautiful beaches and rarest wildlife in the world. Floridians will send a clear message in opposition to dangerous offshore oil drilling at today’s meeting, and we hope federal officials uphold Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke's commitment keeping Florida 'off the table' for drilling consideration. The risks of offshore drilling are simply not worth putting our coastal communities, natural resources, and economic vitality at risk."
 
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