BLM Pulls Lease Tracts Located Along Green River In Desolation, 9-Mile Canyons - MSNBC

SALT LAKE CITY - A section of whitewater rapids tucked between high cliffs, little-changed since explorer John Wesley Powell boated through in 1896, and a canyon decorated with thousands of ancient rock art panels have been pulled off the auction block by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

For the second time in a week, the bureau announced late Tuesday that it was pulling auction parcels from an expanded oil-and-gas leasing program in Utah. The latest tracts include land inside Nine Mile Canyon and Desolation Canyon on the Green River. The bureau didn't say why it was pulling the lease tracts, but the prospect of drilling near Utah's scenic treasures brought condemnation from conservation groups.

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The additional deferrals were announced after business hours Tuesday. BLM spokeswoman Mary Wilson said the agency would remove lease parcels from the "canyon bottoms" in Desolation and Nine Mile canyons, while leaving for auction other parcels on bluffs overlooking those canyons.

The BLM never intended to allow drillers to set up rigs inside the canyons, she said. It would have required drillers to reach the parcels from another pad, using directional drilling, she said.

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