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Federal land managers have changed course on two oil and gas leases they had approved in Utah's Nine Mile Canyon, the Green River tributary cutting across the energy-rich West Tavaputz Plateau and renowned for conspicuous rock art left by ancient American Indians.
The Bureau of Land Management was set to sell the leases, covering 1,550 acres, Tuesday along with 26 others at its quarterly auction for drilling rights on public lands managed by the Price and Vernal field offices. Instead, the agency will "defer" new leasing in Nine Mile in recognition of concerns that these minerals can't be developed without resulting in unacceptable impacts to the canyon's federally protected archaeological resources.
"BLM never pulls leases forever. They just defer to another lease sale. It's not like we won a long-term victory," said Dennis Willis of the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition.
The Price-based preservation group is among several that had protested these two leases.
The upcoming auction will be Utah's first conducted online, drawing protests from climate activists who believe the new system aims to keep the public from demonstrating. Activists this week staged a mock auction in front of the BLM's Salt Lake City office to denounce what they say is the agency's undue deference to the oil and gas industry.
Industry and Utah state officials, however, say the BLM's deference skews toward environmental extremism under President Barack Obama's leadership.
Regardless, the Nine Mile parcels and many other leases deferred by the Obama administration could easily resurface at future actions once President-elect Donald Trump's Interior Department appointees get settled in. On Friday, he nominated as Interior Secretary Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, of Washington, who has a long track record favoring mineral extraction.
After conservation groups failed to sway the BLM to not lease inside Nine Mile, they sought intervention from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal panel that offers recommendations to the White House.
The BLM had previously said "no-surface occupancy" stipulations on the pulled leases would keep development from marring their rock art and other archaeological resources. But Willis pointed out that industry would just directionally drill from nearby private ranch lands, thereby thwarting the purpose of the stipulations. This week, BLM agreed Willis' coalition and other groups were making a valid point. Deferring the two Nine Mile leases was not the first time the BLM yanked proposed oil and gas leases at the 11th hour after groups raised concerns about how drilling would affect archaeological resources.
The agency "takes careful consideration for each parcel considered for the oil and gas lease sale, and often defers parcels to allow for additional consultation and review. This decision will allow for more thorough consultation with the Hopi Tribe and partners to further analyze and mitigate potential impacts to the Nine Mile Canyon Areas of Critical Environmental Concern in accordance with the Vernal [Resource Management Plan]," said BLM spokesman Ryan Sutherland.
Another proposed lease in the Nine Mile drainage's Argyle Canyon remains on the list of parcels to be sold Tuesday, despite objections from the Hopi, along with three others in the Desolation Canyon area that Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance wants withdrawn.
"BLM should defer these four other parcels for the same reason that it deferred the two parcels in Nine Mile Canyon, [that is] BLM has incorrectly concluded that leasing and development may not adversely affect cultural resources," wrote Steve Bloch, SUWA's legal director, in an e-mail. "Bottom line, the glass is half full and BLM's work is partway done."
Brian Maffly covers public lands for The Salt Lake Tribune. Brian Maffly can be reached at bmaffly@sltrib.com or 801-257-8713. Twitter: @brianmaffly