FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 5, 2018
DENVER — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today announced he is deferring a planned oil and gas lease auction near Livingston, Montana. Today’s postponement comes on the heels of a similar delay near Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Advocacy Director Jesse Prentice‚ÄìDunn:
“Secretary Zinke is once again treating America’s public lands like contestants on a reality show, handing out roses to the places he chooses to save while casting the rest aside. Of course these lease sales should be postponed. But a temporary deferment for lands that should never have been offered at all is hardly worthy of loud applause. Lands at the doorstep of Yellowstone or the gateway to spectacular cultural sites at Chaco should never have been put on the auction block in the first place.”
Secretary Zinke’s announcement follows a pattern he created during his review of national monuments, when he took monuments off the table one at a time, at one point telling his chief of staff to “pick up the speed” in announcing which monuments he was saving.
Zinke is due to testify before Congress this month as part of the budget process. His temporary postponement of lease sales does not preclude the possibility that the Livingston and Chaco auctions could be scheduled again after he testifies.
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Photo: Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Wikimedia Commons
