The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has put on hold its plans to offer acreage in the east-central part of the state for oil and natural gas leasing later this month.

The Interior Department agency has deferred leasing on 73,000 acres primarily in McCone and Garfield counties, which were scheduled to be auctioned on July 31. The area includes the winter habitat for the sage grouse, said BLM spokesman Greg Albright, who added that the agency wants to make sure that protections are adequate before it leases land to the oil and gas industry.

The BLM’s action also is in response to strong opposition from conservation groups, environmentalists and state officials, who claim that leasing would harm the habitat and damage the environment. These groups have protested the BLM’s last three sales, Albright told NGI.

Opinions conflict on how the sage grouse has been faring (see Daily GPI, July 19; July 11).

The BLM still plans to auction 195 parcels, covering 263,000 acres, to producers later this month, he said.

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