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In a new interactive report, the Center for Western Priorities highlights special landscapes with high recreational, ecological, and cultural value that were wrongfully nominated for leasing by oil and gas companies, but rightfully deferred—or removed—from lease sales by the Bureau of Land Management.
The report, titled Don't Drill Here, showcases examples in which companies sought to drill on the doorsteps of prized landscapes, like Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. The report demonstrates that when oil and gas companies nominate lands for leasing that are inappropriate for drilling, the Bureau of Land Management's ability to remove those lands from leasing in response to bipartisan public protest is critical.
These types of conflicts are likely to reemerge as President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum attempt to remove “burdens” on oil and gas development on public lands, handing the keys to the leasing process over to the oil and gas industry.
“Reducing conflicts while still allowing oil and gas companies the opportunity to drill in appropriate areas should be the goal of the Bureau of Land Management,” said Communications Manager Kate Groetzinger in a statement. “Not enriching oil and gas CEOs at the expense of rural communities and national parks.”
Trump names Kathleen Sgamma as next BLM director
President Donald Trump picked Kathleen Sgamma, a staunch oil and gas industry advocate, as the next director of the Bureau of Land Management. Sgamma is the president of Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas trade group that has long advocated for greater industry access to public lands and less regulation of oil and gas mining interests.
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Public lands are supposed to benefit all Americans. The Trump administration will be met with swift condemnation if it forgets that.”
