The Bureau of Land Management plans to offer 114,000 acres of Utah public land in an oil and gas lease sale this September. Clusters of these proposed leases are nearby Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. We speak with an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, who says the scale of this sale is reminiscent of the controversial 2008 sale at the tail end of the George W. Bush administration. Plus, Grand County is hosting a panel discussion on ‘race and justice’ tomorrow and the public is invited to participate.

Show Notes:

BLM: Seeks comments on 77 parcels offered in September oil and gas lease sale

Comments on the environmental documents can be submitted electronically via the BLM Land Use Planning and NEPA Register (ePlanning) at https://go.usa.gov/xw9fE. Comments must be received by July 9, 2020. Links to the environmental documents, lists and maps of the parcels, and attached stipulations are online at https://go.usa.gov/xw9fE.

SUWA Press Release: Amid Pandemic, Interior Moves Forward with Enormous Oil and Gas Drilling Plan on Public Lands Near National Parks

https://suwa.org/amid-pandemic-interior-moves-forward-with-enormous-oil-and-gas-drilling-plan-on-public-lands-near-national-parks/

SUWA Map: Visual Impact from Canyonlands National Park

https://suwa.org/wp-content/uploads/SUWA-Map-September-2020-Lease-Sale-Viewshed.pdf

SUWA Map: BLM September 2020 Oil and Gas Lease Sale and May 2020 Royalty Relief Leases

https://suwa.org/wp-content/uploads/SUWA-Map-September-2020-Lease-Sale-and-Royalty-Relief-Leases.pdf

USGS: Federal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequestration in the United States – Estimates for 2005 – 14

https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2018/5131/sir20185131.pdf

BLM: Temporary Oil and Natural Royalty Rate Reduction due to COVID-19

https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/oil-and-gas/covid-royalty-rate-reduction-guidance

Grand County’s Conversation on Race & Justice

Zoom Meeting Link (starts 6/16 at 2pm)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81833646449?pwd=N3BNY0hJRzl4SUxzQ0c5c0Y1dCt1UT09

Call-in: 669-900-6833

Meeting ID: 884 2398 5706

Password: (if needed) 999879

KZMU News 6/9 Interview with Grand County Attorney Christina Sloan

https://www.kzmu.org/kzmu-news-tuesday-june-9-2020/