Greg E. Walcher

Credentials

• B.A., Social Sciences and History, Colorado Mesa University (1979). [1]

Background

Greg Walcher is president of Natural Resources Group, a consulting firm specializing in “energy, water, public lands, forestry, wildlife, and other environmental issues.” [2]

He is also a member of the Heartland Institute‘s Policy Advisory Board, an associate at Dawson and Associates, a fellow at the Centennial Institute, and a board member and senior policy fellow at the Energy and Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal), a 501(c)(3) organization that has historically fought against EPA clean air regulations.  [2]

According to his LinkedIn profile, Walcher is also a partner at The Stillwell Group, a public affairs and business consulting firm. He is also listed as a consultant to the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation, which has been known to fund a wide range of conservative causes including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). From 1999 to 2004, Walcher headed the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, serving in the Governor’s Cabinet. After graduating from Colorado Mesa University in 1979, he spent more than 10 years working with Senator Bill Armstrong. [1]

Walcher was president and CEO of Club 20, a “consortium of Western Colorado stakeholders,” for ten years. Club 20 was formerly part of the larger Partnership for the West Coalition, also known as Partnership for America, a coalition of groups advocating for “multiple-use” policies from industries including mining, ranching and logging. [3], [4]

Walcher is the author of Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How to Take It Back (American Tradition Institute, 2013) where, according to one review, he discusses “ideological differences as he examines the environmental movement” like the idea that “Environmentalists perceive man as an immoral, destructive interloper who can interact only negatively with his natural surroundings.” [5]

Stance on Climate Change

October 2013

Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event to discuss his new book, Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How To Take It Back,” Walcher suggested the UN‘s climate science panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chnage, was among “advocates of man-made global warming alarmist theories”: [6]

“In the debates about global warming, a lot of you remember that the IPCC and some of the other advocates of man-made global warming alarmist theories believe that the most dangerous of all greenhouse gases is methane,” Walcher said. [6]

September 2012

“The truth is that scientists advocating the theory of catastrophic manmade global warming have no idea what the weather will be like next year. Neither does anyone else. They hand out lots of charts, but none of them are based on anything but educated projections and computer models, which have already proven to be wrong in predictions they made a few years ago. So you might think a world-famous expert would be cautiously telling us to be careful about such assumptions. You would be wrong,” Walcher wrote at his blog, Resources and Reality. [7]

Key Quotes

August 7, 2018

Speaking at the Heartland Institute’s America First Energy Conference, Walcher criticized the landmark kids’ climate change lawsuit. He concluded: [8]

“I don’t personally claim to be an expert on climate science, although I’ve studies it for a number of years,” Walcher said. “Science is very complex and public policy perhaps even more complicated. These children ought to be left alone to grup up, go to school, learn something, and gain some life experiences that might eventually, someday, qualify them to come and educate the rest of us and make public policy.”

December 6, 2017

Responding to President Donald Trump’s declaration that he would reduce the size of the Bears Ears Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante Monuments, Walcher provided a statement at the Heartland Institute: [9]

“These monuments are different than the others in one vital respect: They were created by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama despite the objections of the people and lawmakers who live in and around the monuments, not in response to local support. They were an unquestionable abuse of power when they were designated, and the administration is right to reverse course now.” [9]

August 21, 2017

Commenting on then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s comments on EPA‘s regulation of pesticides and other chemicals, Walcher wrote in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: [10]

“I understand many people worry about overuse of chemicals, but they’re not all hazardous. Some are essential.”

[…]’

“Debates about chemicals are mostly one-sided, because all the dubious hype about health concerns invariably ignores the clear public health benefits they provide.”

In the article, Walcher points to research by Angela Logomasini at the industry-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute, as well as Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute. [10]

April 14, 2017

In an op-ed originally published at the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Walcher argued for reform to the Endangered Species Act in order to list fewer new species and increase the speed of the de-listing process: [11]

“Sometimes in speeches, I have compared the endangered species list to the Hotel California, where ‘you can check out but you can never leave.’ It is a short way of explaining the problem of a system that adds hundreds of species to the endangered list, but never takes any off,” Walcher wrote.

“What is needed is not a massive rewrite, but a rifle shot at the Achilles heel of a broken system. […] No species should be listed without a clear understanding of what would constitute recovery, and firm delisting goals for all species already listed should be published soon.” [11]

March 10, 2017

Walcher praised President Donald Trump’s announcement of withdrawal of the Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS), a rule designed to protect large bodies of water, including streams and wetlands, from pollution. (In August 2018 a federal judge invalidated the Trump administration’s WOTUS suspension.) [12]

“President Trump this week kept a campaign promise, one especially important to the West, ordering the EPA to withdraw its controversial ‘Waters of the United States’ (WOTUS) regulation. It is a welcome decision, though a great deal of work must be done now,” Walcher wrote. 

“The WOTUS rule was an unconscionable threat to the careful and delicate system of Western water regulation, affecting our ability to live, work, and raise families in the nation’s most beautiful places.” [12]

December 31, 2015

Walcher suggested rules aimed at promoting renewable energy and reducing fossil fuel use are unnecessary, and that “American air quality has improved substantially without [EPA rules], and they would have virtually no effect on the climate.” [13]

“[W]e should also acknowledge that some pollution is natural, caused by lightning strikes, fires, volcanoes, and other natural processes. The air was never perfectly pristine, and we should be very careful about obstructing economic growth, and limiting our freedom and prosperity, to push for unrealistic goals or political agendas,” Walcher wrote. [13]

October 2013

Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event, Walcher discussed his methods with regards to endangered species:

“You have to take a sort of carrot and the stick approach. You have to say we’re going to recover endangered species, restore forest health, clean up the air and water, and do the right thing for the environment, and we’ll sue you when you try to stop us from that.

“And you have to be willing to do that too. I think it’s a really important part of the equation, and we did that in Colorado. We stopped them from putting the black-tailed prairie dog on the endangered species list with the threat of a lawsuit. Because many times these decisions are motived by lawsuits or the fear of lawsuits, and sometimes you have to be willing to play that card as well. So we’ve done that.” Walcher said (emphasis added). [6]

June 30, 2009

“[C]ap-and-trade is a bureaucrat’s dream. Carbon is among the most abundant natural elements, and carbon dioxide is central to all life. As MIT climate scientist Dr. Richard Lindzen wrote, ‘If you control carbon, you control life.’” So predictably, advocates of big central government not only want to regulate carbon and the ability to buy and sell it, they also want to tax that right,” Walcher wrote in a blog post where he compared carbon pricing to selling Indulgences. [14]

Key Deeds

August 7, 2018

Walcher spoke at the Heartland Institute‘s “America First Energy Conference” (AFEC 2018) in New Orleans, Louisiana. [15]

“The purpose of this event is to promote and expand energy freedom in the United States, as outlined in President Donald Trump’s bold America First Energy Plan, a proposal first released during the 2016 presidential campaign. The president’s plan marks a decisive change in direction from the Obama administration’s ‘war on fossil fuels’ and focus on the theory of catastrophic man-caused climate change,” the conference description reads. [16]

He spoke on a panel titled “Climate Lawsuits Against Energy Companies and the Government.” [17]

“For many, many years, environmental activists have been pushing Americans to adopt policies that would create a lower standard of living for future generations based on the dubious theory that our pursuit of the good life is destroying our environment if not the very planet itself,” Walcher began his speech. [17]

During most of his speech, Walcher criticized climate change lawsuits brought on by a group of young Americans against the United States, alleging the government’s creation of a national energy system that causes dangerous climate change violates constitutional and public trust rights. He concluded by suggesting the children in the case are unqualified and lack the education to comment on the issue:

“I don’t personally claim to be an expert on climate science, although I’ve studied it for a number of years,” Walcher said. “Science is very complex and public policy perhaps even more complicated. These children ought to be left alone to grow up, go to school, learn something, and gain some life experiences that might eventually, someday, qualify them to come and educate the rest of us and make public policy.” [17]

February 28, 2018

The MonDak OilField Review, part of the pro-oil ”Crude Life Media Network,” had Walcher as a guest on its show to discuss “why water is so important in energy development, especially in the western half of the United States.” [18]

June 19, 2015

Walcher wrote he had “recently shared a conference podium” with Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress, author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. [19]

“The remarkably comfortable and productive lives we now live are the result of the discovery, development, use, and improvement of energy. So why do we worry so much, and even feel guilty, about our use of energy to build a better world?” Walcher wrote in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. [19]

October 2013

Walcher appeared at a Heritage Foundation event to discuss his new book, Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How To Take It Back.” [6]

Talking about environmental organizations and litigation, Walcher said:

“Just about any idiot can stop just about anything, anywhere in America. And these are not just any idiots we’re talking about.” [20]

“This is pushing us in the direction of becoming the first nation in the history of the world to adopt policies purposely to ensure its own decline.”

”[…] We are adopting as a nation policies designed specifically to try and encourage the next generation to have a lower standard of living than ours. Literally, to travel less, to live in smaller and less comfortable homes, to give up their cars and other modern conveniences, to stop producing, manufacturing, and especially consuming. 

“And we’re heading in this bizarre direction because of the dubious theory that somehow our pursuit of the good life is destroying the environment, if not the very planet itself.”

When Walcher joined the Natural Resources Department, he said they decided to “take an entirely new direction.” [20]

According to Walcher, the first step in that direction was weakening the Endangered Species Act. “The Endangered Species Act is one of the most dismal failures in the history of federal government,” Walcher said. “We put species on the list. We never take them off. It’s the Hotel California where you can check out but you can never leave. […] We just literally never take anything off the list. We only put them on.” [20]

2004

Walcher unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2004 against John Salazar. As part of his campaign, Walcher promised to demand “accountability from the federal government regarding the abuse of the Endangered Species Act.” [21]

Walcher also promised to fight against “liberal special interests in Washington” — naming the so-called “radical environmental lobby” as “the Sierra Club and friends.” [21]

Affiliations

• Natural Resources Group — President (2005 – present). [2]
• Dawson and Associates — Associate and Senior Advisor (2006 – Present). [2], [1]
• Vernon K. Krieble Foundation — Consultant. [1]
• The Stillwell Group — Partner. [1]
• Colorado Department of Natural Resources — Executive director (1999 – 2004). [1]
• Club 20 — President/CEO (1989–1999). [1]
• The Heartland Institute — Member, Policy Advisory Board.[2]
• Centennial Institute — Fellow in Environment & Natural Resources. [22]
• Energy and Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal) — Board Member and Senior Policy Fellow. [2]

Social Media

• Greg Walcher on LinkedIn.
• @GWalcher on Twitter (protected account)

Publications

According to his profile at the Heartland Institute, he is author of Smoking Them Out: the Theft of the Environment, and How to Take it Back, writes a a weekly newspaper column on natural resources issues, and publishes a blog called “Resources and Reality.” [2]

Walcher regularly writes at his blog on Gregwalcher.com. Some examples below:

• “The Energy Debate Cloaked in Many Colors,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 08, 2018
• “Because I Said So!,” Gregwalcher.com, Apr 06, 2018
• “Environmental Street Fighting,” Gregwalcher.com, Feb 16, 2018
• “Time to Get Off the Gravy Train,” Gregwalcher.com, Dec 07, 2017
• “Returning Science to the EPA,” Gregwalcher.com, Aug 21, 2017
• “California’s Economic Suicide,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 23, 2017
• “How Dare They Keep Promises!,” Gregwalcher.com, May 12, 2017
• “The Hotel California for Wildlife,” Gregwalcher.com, Apr 14, 2017
• “A Promise Made is a Promise Kept,” Gregwalcher.com, Mar 10, 2017
• “We’ll Do Anything to Help – Except That,” Gregwalcher.com, Feb 27, 2017
• “If I Had a Billion Dollars,” Gregwalcher.com, Feb 10, 2017
• “Army, Navy, Air Force, EPA!,” Gregwalcher.com, Jan 06, 2017
• “Green, Greener, of Greenest,” Gregwalcher.com, Dec 30, 2016
• “Too Complicated for the EPA?,” Gregwalcher.com, Jul 22, 2016
• “Conservation’s Greatest Hits,” Gregwalcher.com, Mar 11, 2016
• “Your Utility Bill is Safe, For the Moment,” Gregwalcher.com, Mar 11, 2016
• “Low Energy Candidates,” Gregwalcher.com, Dec 31, 2015
• “Ignore the Message, Shoot the Messenger,” Gregwalcher.com, Nov 05, 2015
• “What, Me Worry?,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 26, 2015
• “Not All Renewables Are Created Equal,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 17, 2015
• “And Justice for All,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 11, 2015
• “Let the Sun Shine on Freedom,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 01, 2015
• “Reign of EPA to Rein in the Rain,” Gregwalcher.com, May 28, 2015
• “A War to End All Wars,” Gregwalcher.com, May 05, 2015
• “Frying Birds in Midair,” Gregwalcher.com, Aug 20, 2014
• “Build it Now – But Not Here?,” Gregwalcher.com, Apr 28, 2014
• “Lights Out!,” Gregwalcher.com, Jan 10, 2014
• “Local Elections Aside, Colorado’s Real Fracking Policy,” Gregwalcher.com, Nov 29, 2013
• “Renewable Energy and Polyester Leisure Suits,” Gregwalcher.com, Jul 19, 2013
• “Wind Power for Us – Bill to Our Grandchildren,” Gregwalcher.com, Feb 07, 2013
• “For the Environment, or For Money?,” Gregwalcher.com, Oct 25, 2012
• “Climate Science and Political Science,” Gregwalcher.com, Sep 19, 2012
• “The Canary is Still Singing,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 07, 2012
• “Energy Production = Jobs,” Gregwalcher.com, May 10, 2012
• “Fear and Loathing on the Way to Energy Independence,” Gregwalcher.com, Oct 17, 2011
• “Change the Words, Not Your Mind,” Gregwalcher.com, Mar 10, 2011
• “The Clothes Have No Emperor,” Gregwalcher.com, Jun 22, 2010
• “More Snow, Please!,” Gregwalcher.com, Feb 10, 2010
• “What is Environmental Justice?,” Gregwalcher.com, Oct 26, 2009
• “Global Warming Did It!,” Gregwalcher.com, Sep 07, 2009
• “Save the Dead Trees!,” Gregwalcher.com, May 15, 2009

Resources

1. “Greg Walcher,” LinkedIn. Accessed September 17, 2018.
2. “GREG E. WALCHER,” The Heartland Institute. Archived August 22, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/YNMlC
3. “About Us,” Partnership for America. Archived December 18, 2008. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/0RcbQ
4. “Fellows & Advisors,” E&E Legal. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GadeH
5. Janet Levy. “Conservation, Not Environmentalism,” American Thinker, January 14, 2018. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/oYTfq
6. “Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How to Take It Back,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heritage Foundation,” October 16, 2013. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
7. “Climate Science and Political Science,” Resources and Reality, September 19, 2012. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/fl82w
8. “Greg Walcher on Panel 5A: Climate Lawsuits Against Energy Companies and the Government,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” August 10, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
9. “PRESS RELEASE: HEARTLAND INSTITUTE EXPERTS REACT TO TRUMP ROLLING BACK FEDERAL LAND GRAB IN UTAH,” The Heartland Institute, December 6, 2017. Archived September 25, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/08HvI
10. “Returning Science to the EPA,” Gregwalcher.com, August 21, 2017. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/6LBla
11. Greg Walcher. “The Hotel California for Wildlife,” Gregwalcher.com, April 14, 2017. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/0jCxb
12. “A Promise Made is a Promise Kept,” Gregwalcher.com, March 10, 2017. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/UDk8D
13. “Low Energy Candidates,” Greg Walcher, December 31, 2015. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/uKs3g
14. “Stopping Pollution or Selling Indulgences?” Greg Walcher, June 30, 2009. Archived September 17, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/loKTn
15. “Speakers,” America First Energy Conference 2018. Archived August 1, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/mwtga
16. “About,” America First Energy Conference 2018. Archived July 23, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/E4Gnt
17. “GREG WALCHER,” America First Energy Conference 2018. Archived August 1, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/vu0Hl
18. “MonDak OilField Review Feb. 28, 2018: Greg Walcher, Natural Resources Group,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Crude Life Content Network,” February 28, 2018.
19. “What, Me Worry?” Greg Walcher, June 26, 2015. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/uIHAa
20. “About,” America First Energy Conference 2018. Archived July 23, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/E4Gnt
21. “3rd District congressional candidates speak out: Greg Walcher, Republican,” Craig Press, October 27, 2004. Archived September 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/1uBYp
22. “Staff & Fellows,” Centennial Institute. Archived September 24, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/8ECyw

Other Resources

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