Bureau of Land Management officials on Tuesday pulled two BLM parcels near Hovenweep, along with other sensitive tracts, from a oil and gas lease auction scheduled for Friday in Salt Lake City. Out of the 112,000 acres originally listed for sale by the agency, only 25,000 acres now will be offered at auction.

Kent Hoffman, the BLM's state deputy director for lands and minerals, says a pair of recent decisions by the Department of Interior's Board of Land Appeals prompted the deferment. The board sidelined an earlier BLM lease sale in eastern Utah because National Historic Preservation Act guidelines weren't followed; another near Zion National Park was shelved because of a collision with National Environmental Protection Act procedures.

"We're basically standing down until we can assess the ramifications of those decisions," Hoffman said.

But Stephen Bloch, an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, says that protests lodged by a coalition of environmentalists, outfitters and archaeologists also played a role.

Hovenweep, which is in the southeast corner of the state and home to ancient American Indian artifacts and structures, was the first site in the United States set aside for archaeological preservation. Two of the BLM parcels were within the "viewshed and soundscape" of the Hovenweep visitors center. One of the tracts had previously been set aside because of its location.

"It was clearly the right decision to defer those parcels," said Bloch. "It was clear the agency had not done its homework before announcing that these special places were for sale."

The BLM also pulled back parcels along the Green River that were the source of protests, though Hoffman said tracts further back from the river will be put up for auction.

Also scheduled to be offered up for lease sale Friday: more than 20,000 acres of National Forest Service land between Strawberry Reservoir and U.S. Highway 6, including areas that qualify for roadless status. This comes on the heels of a nearby 70,000 acre lease sale in September.

"The amazing thing is that these parcels are so close to the Wasatch Front and so beloved by hunters and anglers," said Jero Walker, state director of Western Resources Advocates, which has protested the listing. "There are blue-ribbon fisheries up there and it's critical habitat for deer and elk. There are a lot of other values there."

jbaird@sltrib.com