Trump Administration Is Now Auctioning Off Public Land in Utah for Oil and Gas
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/trump-administration-now-auctioning-public-land-utah-oil-and-gas
The Interior Department on Tuesday is auctioning off 32 parcels of public lands in southeastern Utah for oil and gas development.
The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) lease sale includes more than 51,000 acres of land near Bears Earsthe national monument significantly scaled back by the Trump administration last yearas well as the Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients monuments.
The Trump administration has aggressively pushed for fossil fuels. Even though Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has previously insisted "this is not about energy," Interior Department documents made public by the New York Times earlier this month showed that gaining access to the oil, gas and uranium deposits in Bears Ears and coal reserves in Grand Staircase-Escalante were key reasons behind the drastic cuts to the two Utah monuments.
Conservation groups say the leases are contrary to federal laws and regulations, as oil and gas development will lead to the destruction of culturally and environmentally rich areas. Researchers recently discovered what may be one of the world's richest caches of Triassic period fossils at an extensive site within Bears Ears' original boundaries
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