After an outcry from elected officials, the BLM has dropped plans to auction off two parcels for oil and gas leasing overlapping the Slickrock Bike Trail and Moab’s sole source aquifer. The reversal came days after Utah Governor Gary Herbert asked the federal agency to defer the leases and consider ‘visitor experience’ as well as ‘local water quality.’ And later in the news, a new study finds a warming climate is already causing river flows in the Southwest’s largest watershed to decline. Plus, Public Lands Corner asks: are locals doing something more than recreating when visiting their nearby public lands?

Show Notes:

BLM defers nominated oil and gas lease sale parcels in Moab, Utah –

https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Final_BLM-UT_june2020_oilgasleasesale_022120_parcels11-12.pdf

Public Lands Corner -

https://www.ksl.com/weather/snowpack

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/current/?type=flow