A U.S. District Court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday to halt the sale of oil and gas leases near national parks in Utah's redrock country.
In a five-page ruling, Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ordered the Bureau of Land Management to hold off from issuing oil and gas leases for 77 land parcels near three popular Utah parks until he can later rule on the merits of the case after hearing the issue more extensively in court.
The ruling, out of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., means nearly 110,000 acres near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument won't be sold and subject to drilling anytime soon.
Urbina's ruling comes in response to a federal lawsuit filed last month by seven conservation, environmental and preservation organizations who asked the court to delay the BLM's Dec. 19 lease sale.
The BLM originally wanted to auction leases on 360,000 acres, but after criticism from the National Park Service, its sister agency within the Interior Department, the BLM released a final list that dropped the total to 164,000 acres.
The sale is viewed by some as an attempt by the outgoing Bush administration to award favors to friends in the oil-and-gas industry through the leases and has spurred outrage from a broad contingent opposed to drilling in parts of Utah's most scenic redrock desert.
The lawsuit, filed by groups including the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, seeks to halt the sale of most of the BLM leases, claiming the BLM "failed to complete the analysis required by federal law for the protection of natural and cultural resources."
The temporary restraining order will be in effect for several weeks, until a court date for a hearing on the issue is set, said Heidi McIntosh, associate director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
McIntosh said she's pleased Urbina's order buys her group more time in court to fight off potential drilling. Before Urbina's ruling, the BLM said it would hold off on issuing the leases only until Jan.19.
"It buys everyone some time and keeps the land from being turned over to the oil and gas developers," she said.
A spokesperson for the BLM could not be reached for comment Saturday evening.
