A proposed oil and gas lease auction by the BLM could have visitors to Dinosaur National Monument's Carnegie Exhibit Hall and nearby visitor center pass within sight of drilling activities/NPS, Dan Johnson

Not long after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management decided against offering for oil and gas leasing three parcels near Zion National Park in southwestern Utah, the agency now is thinking of offering two parcels near Dinosaur National Monument in the state's northeastern corner.

One of the proposed leases would butt up against the western boundary of the monument renowned for its paleontological treasures and wild rivers, while another is within sight of Dinosaur's visitor center and fossilized bone exhibit hall.

“We’re just going to see so many more proposals for oil and gas development across the landscape here," said Corey MacNulty, the National Parks Conservation Association's senior program manager for Utah. "There are places for appropriate energy development, and places that are not appropriate.”

The BLM's Vernal District Office is taking public comment through July 24 on a draft environmental assessment that is considering 64 parcels within Utah's Duchesne and Uintah counties. If the proposal goes through, the parcels would be put up for auction in December.

"One of the parcels is adjacent to the park boundary on the west side, and one parcel is right across from the Quarry Visitor Center and Carnegie Exhibit Hall," said Ms. MacNulty. "It’s not like we’re talking miles away from the park or entrance road."

Along with the visual aspect of having drill pads within sight for park visitors, there are issues with the region's struggles with ozone containment in winter, light pollution at night, noise pollution, and possible impacts on threatened and endangered species (humpback chub, bonytail, razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow) in the Green River, she said.

Dinosaur Superintendent Mark Foust, in a letter to the BLM during its scoping period, pointed out that air quality studies have shown that "oil and gas activity in the Uintah Basin is a primary contributor to these wintertime ozone exceedances."

Noting that energy exploration releases additional pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter, the superintendent added that "(T)hese pollutants can contribute to visibility degradation in national parks, adverse effects to human health, which is a concern for park visitors and staff, and adverse ecosystem effects in parks from excess nitrogen and sulfur deposition and ozone impacts to vegetation. Ozone and visibilty are of significant concern for" Dinosaur.

At the end of the day, wrote Superintendent Foust, the number of adverse issues raised by the prospect of energy development adjacent to or near the national monument should preclude leasing of those tracts.

Chris Saeger, executive director of the Western Values Project, criticized the BLM for the leasing proposal, saying "(T)his irresponsible decision will hurt local economies just to reward the big oil companies that brought President Trump and (Interior) Secretary (Ryan) Zinke to power. It's disgraceful that the Trump administration's political agenda is determining local planning decisions."

Earlier this year near Zion, the BLM proposed offering for lease three parcels near the park, including one that would straddle the Kolob Terrace Road north of Virgin that is used to reach the "roof" of the park. Two of the three parcels were two miles from the southwest border of the park. Their location prompted a landslide of public comments against the leasing of the parcels.

In early June, the BLM withdrew the parcels after considering more than 40,000 public comments and hearing from local business leaders and resident. Formal resolutions were passed in Washington County and the gateway towns of Springdale and Toquerville supporting removal of the parcels of land next to Zion from the lease sale. 

Details of the latest lease auction can be found on this site, where there's also a link you can use to comment on the proposal.