Yesterday I discussed the amount of BLM land being offered up for oil and gas leases (see article here). On Monday they had withdrawn some parcels of land that bordered Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Well, after business hours on Tuesday, the Bureau of Land Management announced that they withdraw additional parcels of land from the lease auction.

Specifally, the BLM withdrew parcels of land in Desolate Canyon and Nince Mile Canyon. For Desolate Canyon, they withdrew the parcels of land along the river bottom (it follows the Green River), but left the land on top of the canyon for lease. The BLM claims they never intended for rigs to be at the bottom anyhow, and that the oil available could be accessed from rigs on top using directional drilling techniques. This may be true. But it also seems clear that pressure from the National Park System, conservation groups, and outdoor advocates is having some impact, as the BLM continues to pull back parcels bordering areas dear to these groups. Nine Mile Canyon is a prime example, as it has thousands of rock art panels and artifacts from Native American Tribes all throughout it. These areas are also a prime reason why tourism exists in southern Utah, and Moab specifically. Putting oil rigs throughout them would most likely result in a shift from a tourism based economy to a natural resource development economy.

An interesting note I found in the Salt Lake Tribune (actually focused on the negative impact of another proposed lease site) indicated that the National Trust for Historic Preservation was not convinced that Nine Mile Canyon would actually escape oil and gas drilling in the upcoming lease sale.As such, they filed a formal protest today, which was the deadline to do so. The BLM has until December 12th to review all formally filed protests.

Here is a map showing the location of these two areas. For details, just click on the blue balloon.

As always, if you have thoughts, leave a comment!