BLM auction goes smoothly

The staid and uneventful atmosphere surrounding Tuesday's auction of oil and gas leases on Utah federal land belied the chaos of the proceedings in December when an environmental activist threw a $1.7 million monkey wrench into the works by bidding — and running up bids — on leases with no intention of paying for them.

Though no criminal charges have been filed against the faux-bidder, University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher, the case remains under investigation by U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman's office. DeChristopher has become something of a "green" celebrity, appearing at rallies and giving talks on the need for taking action on environmental issues.

The two dozen or so bidders at Tuesday's sale, held in the Salt Lake City offices of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, conducted their business with quiet efficiency, closing deals on 55 of the 98 parcels that made their way by the auction block.

Only minor procedural changes were made following the hoopla caused by DeChristopher's act of civil disobedience, BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall said after the auction.

"Really, the only difference was we modified some of the language in the bidder registration forms to make it clear that ... if you bid on a parcel, and subsequently win that bid, you have entered into a verbal contract," Crandall said.

Parcels that become available for oil and gas development are first identified, or nominated, by industry, she explained. BLM does an initial survey of nominations to determine a parcel's availability, including an environmental analysis. Lands that are cleared for leasing then are posted and a public-comment period opens. During this time, typically a 30-day window, the agency accepts public input, including any formal protests.

In this particular auction cycle, 109 protests were lodged on an initial list of 109 parcels (though some parcels received multiple protests) representing about 160,000 acres. Of those, Crandall said 11 parcels encompassing about 15,000 acres were withheld for further study.

The Denver-based Center for Native Ecosystems was one of four groups that filed protests on the BLM parcels. Megan Mueller, a staff biologist for the group that works to protect endangered species, said Tuesday that of the dozens of parcels identified as having sensitive habitat issues, only one made the list of the 11 that were kept out of the auction. That particular piece of land had documented evidence of use by the black-footed ferret, a species Mueller said is the most endangered mammal in North America.