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Championing ‘American energy dominance,’ feds to scrap master plans for leasing public lands

In new 44-page blueprint for his agency, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pushes for eliminating regulatory ‘burdens’ on oil, gas and mining development.

(Brian Maffly | Tribune file photo) Several new oil and gas wells are producing near Dead Horse Point State Park on public land that is also sought after by recreational users. Pipelines intersect with mountain bike trails and camping spots in the Big Flat area, which was the subject of the Moab Master Leasing Plan (MLP). The Bureau of Land Management adopted the master plan, and was in the process of developing five others in Utah, to balance recreational and scenic values with the needs of the energy industry. But under new leadership, however, the Interior Department announced Tuesday that it was abandoning the master-leasing plan program as an unacceptable burden for oil, gas and mining development.