BLM auction plans in jeopardy

A Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman said Monday that her agency is consulting with bidders and BLM attorneys on how to resolve questions about an auction for oil and gas leases in Utah, and it's possible the entire lease sale may be redone.

"We're looking at all our options right now — we haven't eliminated any of them," spokeswoman Mary Wilson said.

The questions arose after an environmental activist disrupted the lease sale Friday by making bids without any intention of paying for them. Federal prosecutors were expected to receive law enforcement reports Monday concerning Tim DeChristopher, 27, who told the Deseret News he ran up the prices at last week's auction. During the auction, he won bids on 13 parcels of land but had no intention of paying the $1.7 million owed for them.

When other bidders became suspicious, authorities escorted the University of Utah student out of the building. The BLM ultimately sold 116 of the 131 parcels offered for sale.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah on Monday said it would not rule out taking the case to a federal grand jury if it decides to proceed with criminal charges.

"It's premature until we see the investigative reports to make any judgments on what may or may not be filed," said spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch. "If a determination was made to seek charges, we would present it to a grand jury."

DeChristopher said Monday that his legal defense team will be co-headed by Patrick Shea, a former director of the BLM under the Clinton administration, and Ron Yengich, a criminal defense attorney in Salt Lake City.

"What Tim did was in the best tradition of civil disobedience, he did this without causing any physical or material harm," Shea said. "His purpose was to draw attention to the illegitimacy and immorality of the process."

Wilson said a second bidder, Kent Boardman, appeared to know DeChristopher. She said Boardman, who was the last to register for the auction as a bidder, either didn't bid or didn't win any of the bids. DeChristopher was the second to last to register for the sale. Both men were questioned by BLM agents about their presence at the lease sale.

DeChristopher told the Deseret News on Monday that when he entered the auction Friday, BLM representatives asked if he was a bidder, and he said "sure." He ended up inside with a bidding card in his hand.