Environews

Environews: Terry Tempest Williams is Bidder 19

By Amy Brunvand

– By Amy Brunvand

Utah writer and environmental advocate Terry Tempest Williams is following in the footsteps of “Bidder 70” Tim DeChristopher, who spent two years in prison for monkeywrenching a 2008 BLM oil and gas lease sale in order to call attention to global climate change. The soft-spoken Williams, however, broke no laws when she purchased leases on 1,750 acres for the “fire-sale” price of $2 and less per acre at a Utah BLM oil and gas lease sale in February. Williams plans to form a company called Tempest Exploration, LLC in order to explore the natural energy of wildlife and ecology on the leased property.

When a Bureau of Land Management official asked if Williams was making a “legitimate bid for energy development,” she said: “You can’t define what energy is for us. Our energy development is fueling a movement.”

This article was originally published on March 4, 2016.