BLM downscales plan to auction drilling leases

DENVER – The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday backed off from plans to auction more than a dozen leases to explore for oil and gas on the doorstep of several national parks, deflecting accusations by environmental groups that it was handing a “parting gift” to the energy industry before the Obama administration takes over.

The agency still will proceed with more than 100 lease sales at an auction Dec. 19. BLM officials, who did not return calls for comment Tuesday, released a statement with the Park Service after a Monday meeting with that department, saying the two agencies had come to an agreement on protecting the environment.

“This constructive dialogue between our agencies has resulted in a positive outcome,” Selma Sierra, the BLM director in Utah, said in the statement. “This is important for two sister agencies with environmental stewardship missions.”

It was unclear Tuesday how many sales are being deferred – environmentalists counted 34 and the BLM’s statement identified at least 18. But environmental groups said that was not enough. They noted that the Park Service had identified 93 of the leases as problematic.

“Putting oil and gas exploration and industrial zones in the Southwest causes irreparable damage,” said David Nimkin of the National Park Conservation Association. “It’s like burning Rembrandts to heat the castle. I’m not sure we’re that desperate.”

About 360,000 acres of available lease sales in Utah were announced on Election Day, including ones near Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park. The BLM bypassed the National Park Service, which normally is allowed to weigh in on leases near parks.

The disclosure of the auction several days later sparked complaints that the Bush administration was trying to rush the leases. The co-chair of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, John Podesta, said that the new administration might try to reverse the sales.

Mary Wilson, a BLM spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the agency had erred by leaving the Park Service out of the loop. But she defended the process, noting that the agency conducts auctions every four months and has sought to auction some of the parcels for years.

“We’re doing what we’re mandated to do,” she said.

The BLM waited to offer the leases until it finalized new management plans for more than 11 million acres of land in Utah last month. Wilson said the new plan has environmental protections in it, but BLM critics said the plan opens pristine land to exploration and is the legacy of an administration obsessed with drilling.

“This is the cementing of the Bush administration legacy in Utah,” said Stephen Bloch, an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.