Jefferson High School students in Weld County used as Russian props.

Environmentalists are fond of demanding transparency for Republican politicians and proprietary information and trade secrets from the natural gas industry, but not when it comes to their own secret funders pouring millions of dollars into Colorado anti-fracking campaigns.

Historically, donations to national environmental groups came from an elite liberal club of Democrats as a backdoor method to fund their own political candidates.

Now the money is laundered through foundations that collect hundreds of millions from private donors – no names attached – and then secretly funnel the cash to national environmental groups who in turn siphon the money to local activists to create the aura of a grassroots effort.

And the money isn’t just coming from wealthy American donors, as reports now suggest the Russian government and its oil operations are funding anti-fracking campaigns across the U.S. and in Colorado.

The National Review is reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is covertly supporting anti-fracking activists and spreading propaganda because of the damage our successful energy industry has done to Russian oil prices.

 Because Putin depends for revenue on his oil and natural gas-exports, fracking’s cheaper alternative presents him with a big problem. Indeed, lower oil prices are already driving Russia’s economy into recession.

The report says Russia has ramped up their covert operation to funnel money to environmental groups, often without the group’s knowledge, to act as mouthpieces for Russian intelligence.

Russia regards fracking as a critical national-security threat. And now more than ever, for President Putin, probably no option is off-limits.

The Washington Free Beacon reported last month that a shadowy Bermudan operation with ties to Putin and Russian oil interests used an offshore money-laundering scheme to funnel $23 million dollars to anti-fracking groups in the U.S.

The report details how money was funneled to fractivist groups including Food and Water Watch. A major player in Colorado anti-fracking activities, Food and Water Watch’s fingerprints were most recently visible at a oil and gas task force meeting where Weld County students on a field trip were used as props in the protest.

According to Big Green Radicals:

While environmental activists give the impression that local residents in states with natural gas reserves have banded together to oppose development of their state’s resources, these campaigns are actually far from pure grassroots efforts. Activist groups like Food & Water Watch are bankrolling and organizing these campaigns from their headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In Colorado, the movement to ban fracking was ostensibly led by “Frack-Free Colorado,” a local group of Coloradoans. But a closer look at the financials of Colorado’s anti-natural gas campaign reveals that Food & Water Watch was one of the largest donors to the campaign.

When local and state decisions that affect energy independence in the U.S. are being heavily influenced by foreign governments, it’s time for Congress to step in with their own investigation.

Whether it’s the House Natural Resources Committee where U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn has seniority, or the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently joined by Sen. Cory Gardner, the war on Colorado by anti-frackers is now a national security threat that demands their attention.