Drilling on the doorstep of our parks
How the Trump administration’s ‘energy dominance’ agenda threatens our treasured public lands
From Yosemite to Bears Ears, our nation’s public lands conserve our natural and cultural heritage. Stoked by visits from all generations, our national parks alone contribute $35 billion to the national economy and strengthen local communities’ population, employment, and income. Each year, public lands in the West see 290 million visits, and this desire for outdoor recreation and exploration, along with the economic boost it brings, shows no signs of stopping. Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s industry-friendly agenda now threatens those parks and public lands.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has completed or initiated at least 22 policy changes meant to bolster the private oil and gas industry while decreasing protections for our most treasured landscapes and surrounding communities. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has willfully ignored the Department of the Interior’s multiple use mandate to manage public lands for the greater good, instead granting extractive industry wishes while ignoring public comments and scientific analyses. In the last year alone, Secretary Zinke has put 11.6 million acres of public lands on the auction block, opening them to oil and gas development, eliminated 2 million acres of national monuments, proposed significant budget cuts to the National Park Service, and suggested steep increases to park entrance fees for the general public.
Secretary Zinke may bill himself as a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist promoting balance on our public lands, but it’s clear who he’s serving — the oil and gas industry. Zinke’s agenda is not popular with the public. In particular, a great majority of voters in the West — home to nearly half of all federally-owned lands — value continued land protections over energy production. Yet, Zinke has continued to offer up oil and gas leases on the doorsteps of our national parks and monuments. Look below to see some of these protected lands that could soon be threatened by nearby oil and gas development.
Bears Ears National Monument | Utah
Despite widespread protests from local tribal communities, businesses, and the National Park Service, the BLM sold 51,4000 acres of leases covering culturally and archaeologically dense lands in Southeastern Utah, including parcels on the doorstep of Bears Ears National Monument. This recent (March 20, 2018) sale comes on the heels of President Trump eliminating 85 percent of the monument.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument | Colorado
Visitation Statistics (2016):
- Visitors: 89,579
Bundled in with the aforementioned recent Bears Ears lease sale, and despite direct pleas from the National Park Service (among others), all parcels bordering archaeologically dense Canyon of the Ancients were leased to private developers.
Hovenweep National Monument | Utah
- Visitors: 42,863
- Jobs: 39
- Local Economic Contribution: $3,153,800
Bundled in with the aforementioned recent Bears Ears and Canyons of the Ancients lease sales, all parcels within five miles of International Dark-Sky Park, Hovenweep National Monument, were sold in March 2018. The National Park Service and conservationists’ concerns over noise and visual disruptions, as well as harmful impacts to local air and groundwater.
Basin and Range National Monument | Nevada
In December 2017, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offered leases on 67 parcels in the Ruby Mountains, two of which directly bordered Basin and Range National Monument, a geologic gem. The few leases that did sell were largely speculative; however, none of the park-adjacent parcels sold at auction.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park | New Mexico
- Visitors: 54,083
- Jobs: 46
- Local Economic Contribution: $3,600,500
Proposed lease sales in early March 2018 near UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chaco Canyon, were abruptly deferred by Secretary Zinke, himself, citing concerns from tribal communities, historic preservation experts, and Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich. Zinke suggested further analysis was needed on the area’s 5,000 cultural sites (two miles from proposed leasing parcels), but did not permanently withdraw the sensitive region from future lease sales.
Dinosaur National Monument | Utah
- Visitors: 304,312
- Jobs: 244
- Local Economic Contribution: $20,457,600
In December 2017, the Bureau of Land Management moved forward with a controversial lease sale that included parcels near Dinosaur National Monument. Utah Governor Gary Herbert had asked the BLM to “re-evaluate” lease parcels bordering the monument. The agency deferred two of the parcels in question, but moved forward with others.
Fort Laramie National Historic Site | Wyoming
- Visitors: 57,445
- Jobs: 52
- Local Economic Contribution: $3,948,700
At another March 2018 auction, six parcels were recently sold within less than a half mile of the iconic, 200-year-old Fort Laramie National Historic Site. The BLM conducted no analysis or consideration of the potential sale impacts, despite acknowledging concerns raised by the NPS and conservationists.
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site | North Dakota
- Visitors: 17,502
- Jobs: 16
- Local Economic Contribution: $1,277,200
In December 2017, parcels within five miles of centuries-old Fort Union — the most important fur trade post of the Assiniboine and other Northern Plains Tribes. Though the BLM added a special stipulation to protect visibility within three and a half miles of the park, the impacts of drilling extend far beyond visual pollution, and it remains unclear why this stipulation has not been added to other historically preserved parks.
Great Basin National Park | Nevada
- Visitors: 144,847
- Jobs: 122
- Local Economic Contribution: $8,861,700
At another December sale, the BLM sold 33,000 acres in Nevada, including several parcels less than five miles from Great Basin National Park, home to millennium-old bristlecone pines and Ice Age limestone caves. All parcels sold for the minimum bid of $2 per acre.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park | North Dakota
- Visitors: 753,880
- Jobs: 654
- Local Economic Contribution: $51,009,700
The proposed March leasing of an oil and gas parcel on the boundary of a national park commemorating former president, Teddy Roosevelt, was deferred for further environmental assessment. Oil and gas development on these lands would directly contradict Roosevelt’s legacy of U.S. conservation and public lands protections.
Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument | Montana
Visitation Statistics (2016):
- Visitors: 46,342
- Jobs (2015): 991
March 2018 saw the sale of leases to another 54,000 public acres in Montana, including a 200-acre parcel bordering the majestic badlands of Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. This particular parcel sold for the absolute minimum of $2 per acre.
Zion National Park | Utah
- Visitors: 4.2+ million
- Jobs: 3,382
- Local Economic Contribution: $333,151,700
In February 2017, the BLM announced the lease sale of over 4,700 acres in close proximity — within two miles — to Zion park boundaries and nearby gateway communities of Toquerville and Virgin. The BLM received over 40,000 comments in opposition from local business leaders and residents, as well as Utah Governor Gary Herbert and the National Park Service. In June, BLM deferred the sale citing environmental concerns and the flourishing recreational and tourism visits.
