BLM's oil-lease decision protects lands and wildlife
For the first time in two decades, the Bureau of Land Management has canceled an oil and gas lease auction in Utah. The agency recognized that further studies are needed about the effects of energy development on important wildlife habitat. In its cancellation notice, the BLM states, "Further review of the NEPA analysis provisions is warranted to consider new wildlife habitat information available from the state of Utah, Division of Wildlife Resources."
The Mule Deer Foundation, which works to conserve mule deer and black-tailed deer and their habitats, views the agency's decision as cause for celebration. In canceling the sale, the BLM continues an encouraging journey of considering environmental impacts and sportsmen's interests before converting public resources to private interests. In August, the BLM withdrew half the acreage proposed for energy leasing — more than 72,000 acres — following protests by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a sportsmen's coalition.
Since 1996, more than 25 million acres of the Rocky Mountain West have been leased for oil and gas development. In 2006, the BLM received more than 10,400 applications for permits to drill for natural gas, a record high and a 20 percent increase from 2005.
Right now in Utah, six BLM and six Forest Service offices are determining management of more than 16 million acres of public lands. Nearly 9,000 new natural gas wells might be drilled on the BLM lands alone. Given the scale of future development in Utah, the BLM must follow its multiple-use mandate, employ peer-reviewed science and ensure consistent stakeholder involvement. Failure to do so will severely impact the land and our ability to hunt and fish on it.
This simple admission by the Utah BLM — that more study is needed — speaks to challenges inherent in the leasing process. Leases are contractual obligations for development. Management plans must be finalized prior to leasing if public land uses like hunting and hiking are to be preserved. If the BLM leases lands for energy development then later realizes it made a mistake — or overlooked crucial information that impacts mule deer, trout or sage grouse — it can do little to reverse its decision.
Utah's hunting and fishing opportunities are world-renowned. Now is the time to protect that resource and the $650 million that hunting and fishing contribute annually to Utah's economy. It is encouraging to see the BLM in Utah beginning to take a harder look at energy development — one that should become consistent practice by the BLM, in Utah and across the West.
Miles Moretti is the president and CEO of the Mule Deer Foundation. Steven Belinda manages the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership energy initiative
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