Drilling plan sparks debate

Utah Republicans in Congress are at odds with conservation and environmental groups over a plan by the Obama transition team to halt oil and gas drilling near Utah's national parks.

Environmental groups say the drilling would destroy the areas' natural beauty and could harm the state's tourism industry. The Republican lawmakers who support drilling on federal lands in Utah see the environmental impact as temporary and say the resource development would benefit the state's economy and increase the nation's energy security.

The issue arose when John Podesta, co-chairman of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, said Sunday that Obama is looking at ways to overturn some Bush administration actions, including a scheduled Bureau of Land Management sale next month of leases for oil exploration near Utah national parks, including several areas abutting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Dinosaur National Monument.

The National Park Service last week objected to the upcoming sale, saying it wants more time to study whether drilling would harm the parks' environment and wildlife. But the BLM said it planned to move forward with regular quarterly lease sales anyway, which would complete the sales while President Bush is still in office.

Mark Clemens, manager of the Utah chapter of the Sierra Club, questioned whether oil or gas production near a place like Arches would be worth sacrificing Utah's natural heritage.

"Obviously, we applaud this," Clemens said Monday about Podesta's comments. "I think that most Utahns would applaud this. ... The lands are right on the border of national parks."

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance attorney Stephen Bloch said his group may file administrative protests if nominated areas near national parks are actually sold during the Dec. 19 sale. "I don't see how we could not do that, given the magnitude of what's being offered," he said.

He said he's not buying the BLM's argument that any oil and gas rigs or operations would be temporary or have a minimal impact.

"You will have the site and sound of development in places where people haven't seen it before, where there's overwhelming natural quiet and dark night skies," Bloch said. In an area of Utah known internationally for its natural beauty, he added, tourism would suffer as a result of resource development so close to the parks.