N.Y. lawmaker calls for probe of BLM in Utah

The congressman wrote that federal law requires the BLM to coordinate land-use planning with state and local governments. "However, such coordination in no way legitimizes back door 'fixes' of BLM land-use plans" to the detriment other values or public access.

The letter said Weidner's note suggests key BLM officials have made commitments to favor oil and gas development. It asks for Devaney to "look into this matter."

"The clear implication of the Weidner e-mail is that BLM and the Bush administration have breached the public's trust," said SUWA lawyer Stephen Bloch, in a press release. "BLM has apparently agreed to manipulate its blueprint for managing the public's lands to benefit the oil and gas industry."

The losers are others who would use the land, he said.

In an e-mail to the Deseret Morning News, Chris Tincher, a spokeswoman for the BLM in Utah, said the agency's land-use planning process is designed to gather public comment and to resolve conflict between all stakeholders, including large organizations such as SUWA, local grass-roots citizens groups and local government.

"It is fully appropriate for the BLM to meet with local governments at their requests. Local governments are cooperating agencies in land-use planning," she said. "If the Department of the Interior's inspector general chooses to review this matter, the BLM is confident its involvement with cooperating agencies will be viewed as fully appropriate by parties from inside and outside of Utah."

Weidner, in an interview, stressed that under the law, counties have cooperating agency status with the BLM. "They have a seat at the table" when the BLM revises its resource management plans, he said. "So essentially, they're partners."

Counties that are part of the council met in Vernal with state officials and oil companies to talk about what works and what doesn't in the BLM's plans, he added. They discussed "what needs to be changed in these RMPs to produce more energy," he said. Counties are "exercising their legitimate legal obligation."

Bisson was interested in listening to the state and counties on how to produce energy and protect the environment, Weidner said. Oil and gas production on federal land in the West has dropped in the last five years, Weidner said, citing a report by the General Accounting Office.

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