Tell the BLM to Protect Public Lands from Drilling

From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):

Red rock stone arches, soaring pinnacles, massive fins and balanced rocks against an endless bright blue sky: This is the iconic imagery of Arches National Park.

But this and many of Utah’s public lands, including Canyonlands National Park and Bears Ears National Monument, will all be at risk from oil and gas drilling — some as close as within a half-mile from our most breathtaking national parks — if the Bureau of Land Management approves new leases in the state. But, the BLM can still reject the proposals.¹

Go to https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=37912 to tell the Bureau of Land Management: Protect our lands from drilling.

The BLM has received more than 230 nominations for oil and gas leases — covering more than 150,000 acres in southern Utah — that would bring drilling operations for gas and oil within mere miles of some of the nation’s most precious protected areas.²

More than two dozen of the nominated leases are within just five miles of Arches National Park’s boundaries, and 25 are within five miles of Canyonlands — some just a half-mile away.³

At a time when we need more nature, more beauty in our lives, this proposal pushes in the opposite direction. If oil and gas drilling is permitted here, industrial lighting and methane flaring would interrupt the expansive, star-filled night sky that the parks are known for. The pristine air quality and hundred-mile views would be disrupted. The stillness of the landscape would forever vanish.⁴

The leases will be up for auction in September — unless we take action now. Stand up for our lands today.

If we allow drilling — and all of the development that comes with it — so close to the borders of these stunning national parks, they will never be the same. This is our chance to prevent the leases from going up for sale.

Tell the BLM: No drilling outside our national parks.

1. Julian Eilperin and Darryl Fears, “Oil and gas companies want to drill within a half-mile of Utah’s best-known national parks,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2020.
2. Julian Eilperin and Darryl Fears, “Oil and gas companies want to drill within a half-mile of Utah’s best-known national parks,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2020.
3. Julian Eilperin and Darryl Fears, “Oil and gas companies want to drill within a half-mile of Utah’s best-known national parks,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2020.
4. Julian Eilperin and Darryl Fears, “Oil and gas companies want to drill within a half-mile of Utah’s best-known national parks,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2020.