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Over 4,000 Acres Of Land In Northern Arizona To Be Leased For Gas And Oil Exploration

BLM
BLM/U.S. DOI
Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Trump administration will auction off over 4,000 acres of public land for oil and gas development in northern Arizona.

Environmental groups are poised to block the measure in court.

It’s been over five months since the White House rolled back environmental protections for oil and gas leasing on public lands.  

Taylor McKinnon, public lands campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity, said his group is already involved in federal lawsuits to protect public lands from oil and gas exploration. “What we’re seeing in this instance is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as we’re seeing all over the country, skipping environmental and public review when holding this lease sale and conveying development rights to industry. And, that’s dangerous,” he said.   

McKinnon said the Trump administration is ignoring federal law, explaining, “The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal decisions, like oil and gas leasing, be subject to approval under that law. In this case they’re skipping that step.”

Lawsuits have already been filed by his organization against BLM in Ohio and Colorado, specifically related to fracking. McKinnon said his organization is prepared to do the same in Arizona.

Tom Maxedon was the host of KJZZ’s Weekend Edition from 2017 to 2024.