Collaboration and Consultation with Park Service Results in Positive Outcome
Parcels are Deferred from December Lease Sale

Contact: Mary Wilson, (801) 539-4020

Salt Lake City, Utah—November 25, 2008—After two days of extremely productive discussions with the National Park Service about parcels proposed for the December 19, 2008, quarterly oil and gas lease sale, BLM Utah State Director Selma Sierra has agreed to defer all parcels of concern to the Park Service from the sale.

Discussions between the two agencies provided an opportunity for renewed collaboration and coordination.  The NPS and BLM Utah agreed to renew their 1993 memorandum of understanding regarding how BLM Utah and the Park Service work together on prospective oil and gas lease offerings and are developing a draft of the renewed agreement.

BLM Utah State Director Selma Sierra said, “This constructive dialogue between our agencies has resulted in a positive outcome. Ongoing discussions with the National Park Service will continue to strengthen our collaboration and coordination.  This is important for two sister agencies with environmental stewardship missions.”

“I am grateful to the Park Service and Mike Snyder for working closely with BLM Utah and I look forward to further collaboration and coordination,” Sierra concluded.

In a letter to Mike Snyder, National Park Service Regional Director for the Intermountain Region, Sierra informed the Park Service of the decisions to defer parcels and reaffirmed BLM Utah’s commitment to strengthening the two agencies’ collaborative approach to land management decisions in Utah.

Where the BLM has a complex multiple-use stewardship mission and the Park Service strives to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources of the national park system, the two agencies have successfully partnered to reach an agreement that benefits Utah’s public lands. 

According to Snyder, "Working with Selma Sierra, the BLM Utah State Director, has resulted in the kind of resource protection that Americans want and deserve for their national parks."

For more information, please refer to the attached letter detailing these parcel deferrals as well as the included maps.