Critics Blast Utah Oil & Gas Leases - WP

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The Bush administration has moved ahead with its plan to auction oil and gas leases on environmentally sensitive lands in Utah, reaping millions of dollars from broad swaths of lands near a national monument.

A detailed analysis of the leases auctioned to date, conducted by the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that opposed the leases, found that they encompass dozens of critical wildlife habitats that are now open for development. In many cases, the leases were purchased by contributors to President Bush's reelection campaign. Although the federal government routinely auctions oil and gas leases on federal land, this series of sales represents only the second time in five years that it has done so on land it had previously determined to be wilderness quality.

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All 14 parcels of land available were leased at the February auction, with some going for just $5 an acre. The acreage included seven Mexican spotted owl habitats, 12 golden eagle habitats and four peregrine falcon habitats, the Environmental Working Group's analysis found. Of the plots that have been leased or are scheduled to be leased, 27 contain sensitive floodplain areas, the group said, and five plots leased in November are in areas on which oil and gas exploration could contaminate the Colorado River system.

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Lease auctions this year in Utah and in Colorado have partially ringed Dinosaur National Monument, a rugged and remote area popular with river runners. That means, environmental critics said, that visitors will have to pass by oil and gas rigs to reach the park, which includes the scenic Green and Yampa river canyons."

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