The Bureau of Land Management must conduct additional environmental and historical analyses of 32 oil and gas leases in southeastern Utah, according to a settlement between an environmental group and the agency.
The legal challenge, brought by Friends of Cedar Mesa, argued that the agency’s approval of the lease sales didn’t adequately consider the potential impacts on cultural and natural resources in the area, in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act.
The area is home to some of the highest concentrations of archaeological sites in the nation, Friends of Cedar Mesa said in ...