BLM urged to issue oil, gas leases slowly

Bureau of Land Management oil and gas leasing policies should do more to protect wildlife habitat, say representatives of sporting groups concerned about conservation.

More than 25 million acres throughout the West have been leased for energy development since 1996, said Bill Burbridge with the Mule Deer Foundation. About 3.9 million acres of that land is in Utah.

"There's a real concern about the pace and lack of planning that's going on," Burbridge said. He and representatives from Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership met Tuesday with the Deseret Morning News editorial board.

They said their groups support oil and gas development, but it must be planned carefully and done without undue hardship for wildlife.

Under pressure from the Bush administration, the BLM has been increasing the number of oil and gas leases it issues for BLM land, as well as for the Forest Service mineral estate that the BLM manages, they said.

Late last month, the BLM state office for Utah announced that it was canceling its quarterly competitive oil and gas lease sale that had been planned for Nov. 13. Terry Catlin, leasing team lead for the Utah BLM, said in a news release that the cancellation was "based on concerns over the adequacy of existing environmental compliance in light of availability of new wildlife habitat information."

The state office is conducting a new National Environmental Policy Act analysis to address "new information relevant to oil and gas leasing decisions," she added.

The sale cancellation apparently was a first for the Utah BLM. "We're not aware that one has been canceled in the past due to wildlife habitat concerns," said Sherry Foot, a BLM spokeswoman in Salt Lake City.

Oil and gas companies had nominated 86 parcels for the sale — a total of 141,717 acres — in the field offices administered from Salt Lake City, Price and Richfield. However, usually a third to a half of the nominated parcels drop out before the final offerings, said Foot.

Two of the parcels were determined to be available for leasing, Catlin said. They are to be offered for the Feb. 19, 2008, quarterly lease sale.

Foot said that among the 84 under scrutiny, some may be cleared for the February sale.

Impacts from leasing might damage Strawberry Reservoir, said Paul Dremann and Ted Fitzgerald, members of Trout Unlimited. A total of 84 leases have been issued in the watershed, which Trout Unlimited members fear could cause problems for the watershed system.