SLICKROCK SAVED: Utah Governor pulls Slickrock Trail from proposed oil and gas drilling lease sale
Reacting to a wave of public concern—nearly 2,000 messages in 24 hours—Utah’s governor has asked the BLM to pull two parcels encompassing Moab’s iconic Slickrock Trail from a proposed oil and gas lease sale. Located in the popular Sand Flats Recreation Area, the parcels included parts of Moab’s only viable source of drinking water as well as the upper entrance to Grandstaff ...Canyon and Sand Flats Road, both of which access other classic trails.
While this is great news for Slickrock, the parcels are just a small portion of a larger, 6,500-acre oil and gas lease proposal, and just a tiny fraction of the other hundreds of thousands of acres of public land currently being considered for energy extraction. Since 2016, the amount of public land up for such leases has increased by 600%, the result of the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” land nomination policy. Now more than ever, it is critical that the recreation community and concerned citizens demand protection for our public lands, and support bills reforming oil and gas leasing like the one proposed by Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
Patagonia would like to thank the Outdoor Alliance, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Public Land Solutions, and every citizen who reached out to the governor and BLM. We have a long way to go in the fight for our public lands, but Slickrock proves the power of public activism. 展开
Reacting to a wave of public concern—nearly 2,000 messages in 24 hours—Utah’s governor has asked the BLM to pull two parcels encompassing Moab’s iconic Slickrock Trail from a proposed oil and gas lease sale. Located in the popular Sand Flats Recreation Area, the parcels included parts of Moab’s only viable source of drinking water as well as the upper entrance to Grandstaff ...Canyon and Sand Flats Road, both of which access other classic trails.
While this is great news for Slickrock, the parcels are just a small portion of a larger, 6,500-acre oil and gas lease proposal, and just a tiny fraction of the other hundreds of thousands of acres of public land currently being considered for energy extraction. Since 2016, the amount of public land up for such leases has increased by 600%, the result of the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” land nomination policy. Now more than ever, it is critical that the recreation community and concerned citizens demand protection for our public lands, and support bills reforming oil and gas leasing like the one proposed by Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
Patagonia would like to thank the Outdoor Alliance, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Public Land Solutions, and every citizen who reached out to the governor and BLM. We have a long way to go in the fight for our public lands, but Slickrock proves the power of public activism. 展开
