BLM withdraws contentious Utah leases

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says it has withdrawn controversial plans to sell oil and gas drilling leases near scenic Utah parklands.

BLM officials said they had shelved the plans during a joint announcement with the National Park Service in Salt Lake City Tuesday, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The announcement came after vehement opposition to the BLM plans came from the Park Service, members of Congress and a possible President-elect Barack Obama Cabinet choice. BLM Utah state director Selma Sierra the agency has vowed to work with the Park Service in the future, which had fought the proposal to open bids on lands along the road to Dinosaur National Monument as well as in areas visible from Utah's iconic Delicate Arch and lands near Canyonlands National Park.

Ongoing discussions with the National Park Service will continue to strengthen our collaboration and coordination, Sierra said.

It's still a disaster in the making, Steve Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, told the Tribune. Parcels (that Park Service officials) said were important are still on (the sale list).

The BLM move was opposed by U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., reportedly Obama's choice for U.S. interior secretary, the newspaper said.

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