Utah Governor Wants Rethink of Book Cliffs Leasing
Tens of thousands of acres in Utah if leased for oil and gas exploration could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the state’s schoolchildren. But Gov. Gary Herbert said a decision to lease land to Anadarko Petroleum Corp. should be reconsidered as the acreage could have even more value if managed differently.
The Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) agreed to lease acreage in what is known as the lower Book Cliffs roadless area to Anadarko. However, the decision was met with cries of outrage from multiple hunting and fishing groups and Herbert said the decision should be reconsidered.
“SITLA’s decision to lease the entire Book Cliffs block could be at the expense of a more vital and potentially more valuable land management strategy,” Herbert said. “I expect SITLA to honor its fiduciary responsibility to Utah’s school children. However, I call on SITLA to live up to that obligation and find the best, long-term agreement that will return the greatest possible revenue to the school trust.”
The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah.
The SITLA board recently voted to enter into a five-year contract with Anadarko that would allow the company to conduct exploratory development on the land in Uintah and Grand counties. Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen would not discuss the company’s plans in the area except to say it would likely be an unconventional play.
“The entire Book Cliffs block, north and south, consists of approximately 120,000 acres; whereas, our proposed lease area is less than 50,000 acres,” Anadarko said in a statement. “Though it is still very early in what would be a multi-year evaluation process, our initial activity would occur in areas where there is already existing oil and natural gas wells and infrastructure.
“As we do in all of our operating areas, we will work proactively with the appropriate regulatory and government agencies, sportsmen and others to ensure any activity is done in a prudent and responsible manner.”
Groups such as Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and Trout Unlimited are opposed to the leasing of the pristine hunting grounds for oil and gas exploration and have been working with U.S. Rep Bob Bishop (R-UT) on a land exchange with the Book Cliffs acreage considered for inclusion, according to a report in the Deseret News.
“The recent SITLA board decision to lease the lower Book Cliffs roadless area complicates the ongoing, collaborative planning effort,” Bishop said in a statement. “The lower roadless area has tremendous values beyond traditional energy resources, and their conservation is a worthwhile endeavor.”
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