A former aide to Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) has joined the policy team at the Western Energy Alliance, a trade group that represents hundreds of oil and gas companies.

Brian Meinhart, who was also an aide to former Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), will serve as policy analyst for the Denver-based group, which advocates for drilling access on federal lands.

"Brian's expertise navigating public lands issues and his experience in the federal government will be a major asset to our ongoing mission of promoting environmentally responsible exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West," said Tim Wigley, president of WEA.

Meinhart, who holds bachelor's degrees in history and political science from Colorado Mesa University, has also worked for the Commerce and State departments.

In Congress, Meinhart served as a field representative to communities on Colorado's West Slope, which contains significant deposits of natural gas.

WEA has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration's management in the West, particularly its leasing and wilderness policies, proposed standards for hydraulic fracturing, and pace of well permitting.

While production of oil and natural gas has risen nationwide, the vast majority of the increase has occurred on private and state lands, a trend, WEA claims, that can be traced to federal land management policies. Federal officials say that the increase is a reflection of geology and that federal lands by law must be managed for a multitude of uses.

WEA in 2012 paid the American Capitol Group $60,000 to lobby on oil and gas fee and royalty programs, Bureau of Land Management leasing and permitting, and federal air and water quality issues, according to disclosure documents.

The alliance last April testified before the House Natural Resources Committee in support of a trio of Republican bills, including one by Tipton, to accelerate oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal lands, block Obama administration reforms, and impose new restrictions on environmental protests (E&E Daily, April 27, 2012).