During the G.W. Bush administration, the Utah Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was told to rush through new Resource Management Plans (RMP) for public lands in order to prioritize resource extraction. The sloppily written plans were challenged in court by environmental groups, and Tim DeChristopher’s 2009 act of civil disobedience called national attention to the threat of oil and gas development at the edge of Utah’s national parks.
A new Moab Master Leasing Plan responds to the RMP’s environmental problems. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance says the new plan demonstrates a responsible balance between conservation and resource extraction on public lands, providing protection for areas such as Fisher Towers, Porcupine Rim, Six-Shooter Peaks and Goldbar Canyon, and protecting views, dark skies and clean water in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
Moab Master Leasing Plan: blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/moab/MLP.html; Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance: SUWA.org