I hope you will give me the opportunity to clear up some misinformation included in an article in Friday’s Grand Junction Sentinel.  The article, by Bobby Magill, incorrectly stated that “When the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources submitted a new scientific analysis of impacts of drilling on wildlife, the BLM canceled its November lease sale in Utah.”

The inaccuracy leads to a great deal of misunderstanding.  First of all, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) did not submit “a new scientific analysis of impacts of drilling on wildlife.”  What DWR provided the BLM was updated wildlife habitat information. 

When analyzing specific areas nominated for lease sales, BLM biologists access the DWR Geographic Information Systems data.  In addition, as I told Mr. Magill in his initial interview with me on this subject, studies and analyses conducted in other areas needed to be reviewed for their relevance to Utah and in light of the updated habitat information.  “New scientific analysis of impacts of drilling on wildlife” referenced in Friday’s article (which issue mainly from Montana and Wyoming) may or may not apply to situations in Utah, depending on factors such as road and well densities, the actual sub-species of wildlife, climate, terrain, and a plethora of other variables. 

As an example, last year BLM Utah’s Moab Field Office reviewed lease parcels and recommended deferrals in an area that DWR has delineated as a bighorn sheep migration corridor.  This was new information which was not analyzed or factored in to the decisions in the existing Grand Resource Management Plan (signed in the late 1980s).  Moab recommended deferring those parcels until Moab’s new land use plan is in place.  The final plan will analyze the updated DWR wildlife habitat information, and will allow Moab to make informed decisions. 

The real story here is that BLM Utah is working to update the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis that underlies all of our land management decisions.  Canceling or holding an oil and gas lease sale is a fact-specific, detail-oriented decision. BLM Utah considered the facts relevant to its land management decisions and decided to cancel the November 2007 lease sale. Other BLM offices will make decisions based on facts relevant to their own situations.

Terry Catlin
Leasing Team Leader
BLM Utah
440 West 200 South, Suite 301
Salt Lake City, UT  84101