Virgin, UT -- Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it will not move forward with a plan to lease three different parcels of land that sit just outside of Zion National Park for oil and gas development.
The leases faced strong local opposition from business owners, elected officials, locals, and the recreation community, as well as the Washington County Commission. The National Park Service also expressed concerns over the impact drilling would have on Zion, which is the busiest national park in Utah, drawing over 4 million visitors annually.
In response, Lena Moffitt, Senior Director of the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America Campaign, released the following statement:
“Today’s news is proof that public pressure has the power to shut down proposals that would threaten our public lands, our climate, and our communities. As the Trump administration continues to float disastrous policies like opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling or rescinding our national monuments, we will work to harness this power and fight to protect our public lands.”
“Unfortunately, the fact that this outrageous proposal was on the table in the first place speaks volumes about the need to reform our broken leasing process to better account for the economic, public health, and climate impacts of leasing public lands for oil and gas drilling. The American people will continue to speak out until Trump listens to them and not the corporate polluters filling his cabinet and campaign coffers.”
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