Utah Conservationists Successfully Revive Gas Leasing Challenge

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance won its bid to reopen its challenge to the Interior Department’s decision to offer 145 oil and gas leases covering more than 200,000 acres of public lands in Utah.

The group moved for reconsideration after Judge Tena Campbell of the US District Court for the District of Utah in February dismissed the case.

The judge had previously found that the challenged approvals from Interior’s Bureau of Land Management weren’t final agency actions because the relevant leases have been suspended for several years—meaning the case wasn’t ripe for judicial review.

Campbell changed her mind on Monday, ...