Bureau of Land Management – National Park Service Joint Press Statement
Regarding Parcels Proposed for the December 2008 Quarterly Oil and Gas Lease Sale

Contact: Mary Wilson, (801) 539-4020 or Rick Frost (303) 378-0255

Salt Lake City—November 24, 2008—On Nov. 4, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released for public review its preliminary list of offerings on public lands in Utah for the December 2008 oil and gas lease sale.  The National Park Service (NPS) raised concerns about parcels in that offering which were near Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park.  During subsequent discussions, the BLM district office managers and NPS park superintendents worked together to conduct a parcel-by-parcel review of these prospective lease offerings.  Following on those discussions, BLM Utah State Director Selma Sierra and NPS Intermountain Regional Director Mike Snyder met today in Salt Lake City to develop a common approach to resolving concerns about this lease sale. 

Sierra and Snyder released the following statement regarding their collaborative efforts:  “BLM and the NPS are working toward resolving issues on lease parcels in question, as well as on how to proceed with future lease sales.  Our agencies restated their commitment to work together on future lease sales and remain in consultation and expect final resolution tomorrow.”

NPS and BLM agreed to renew their 1993 memorandum of understanding regarding how BLM and Park Service work together on prospective lease offerings and are developing a draft of that agreement.

Final decisions regarding these parcels should be available on Nov. 25.