ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) - The federal Bureau of Land Management canceled a planned sale of land in Southeast Utah to be used for oil drilling following opposition from county and municipal officials.
The land between Arches and Canyonlands national parks will not be included in the bureau’s September sale, The Spectrum reports.
The agency said Tuesday it will offer more than 42 square miles (109 square kilometers) of land to purchase during the week of September 28, but will not include parcels within Grand or San Juan counties.
The cancellation came after Grand County Council and Moab City Council wrote to the bureau seeking an end to the sale.
The remaining land to be sold is in Juab, Sanpete, Sevier, Emery, Duchesne and Uintah counties.
The remaining parcels will support energy industry jobs, the agency said, noting that in fiscal year 2019 the state received $47.1 million from oil and gas revenues on federal land.
“The BLM supports the recreation and tourism industry as an important source of revenue in Utah, while also responsibly leasing and supporting our nation’s energy independence,” the bureau’s Utah State Director Greg Sheehan said in a statement.
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