Federal land officials pared more parcels Friday from next week's sale of oil and gas leases in Utah, unleashing another hailstorm of criticism from conservationists and industry.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's final list cuts nearly 196,000 acres -- including hotly disputed spots near Utah national parks -- from the 360,000 acres of public lands initially planned for the drilling-lease sale.

The agency previously yanked proposed lease sites near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument, along with parcels in relic-rich Nine Mile Canyon and a residential area near Moab. None of those parcels landed back on the BLM's final tally, but preservationists and environmentalists aren't satisfied.

Steve Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the BLM "did the right thing" by cutting from Friday's final list more than 80,000 of acres in the Fillmore area because environmental assessments of the area still aren't complete.

But he criticized the agency's backtracking as evidence of a "rush job" and noted that sensitive parcels in eastern Utah's Desolation and Nine Mile canyons and the White River area remain at risk -- along with 70 of the 94 parcels that the National Park Service had objected to.

"This is still a fire sale for industry," Bloch added. The proposed leases "are ones industry has wanted for years, and the [departing] Bush administration is dead set on selling them."

Industry wasn't happy with the final results either.

Kathleen Sgamma, director of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said all the lands on the list had been sized up and made available for development during the Clinton administration.

Now many have been removed from the for-sale list needlessly, she said, and many that remain have additional restrictions.

"The BLM," Sgamma said, "has buckled under pressure from environmental groups who want to stop any responsible development of natural gas on public lands."

Terry Catlin, Utah BLM's energy team leader, described the final lease-sale parcels as products of long and careful review, aimed at balancing the many land uses that lie at the heart of her agency's mandate.

"Our bottom line is just that, when it comes to oil and gas leasing, we want to err on the side of conservatism and hold off if we think we need to check anything," she said.

Many parcels will be studied further to pin down any additional restrictions that might be needed to protect, say, sensitive species or archaeological treasures.

Pam Miller, coordinator of the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, could not tell from the maps circulated Friday which additional parcels in that area had been removed. But she noted that it didn't matter much.

"We will continue to be unhappy until Nine Mile Canyon is dealt with as an impacted area," she said.

Preservationists warn that current drilling in Nine Mile already is ruining the canyon's world-renowned ancient rock art.

Both Miller and Bloch indicated they would continue to fight the sales. A protest Friday outside the BLM's Salt Lake City office and a fundraiser planned by a group called Visual Cacophony were aimed at keeping attention on the issue.

SUWA also plans a protest at the BLM office when the agency auctions the drilling leases next Friday.

fahys@sltrib.com