Federal judge haults redrock leases

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the sale of oil and gas leases near national parks in Utah's redrock country.

U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina in Washington Saturday ordered the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to hold off from issuing oil and gas leases for 77 land parcels near Utah parks, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Sunday.

The ruling means nearly 110,000 acres near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument will not be subject to drilling any time soon, the newspaper said.

Seven conservation, environmental and preservation organizations filed the federal lawsuit last month, asking the court to delay the Bureau of Land Management's Dec. 19 lease sale. The groups claim the BLM "failed to complete the analysis required by federal law for the protection of natural and cultural resources."

The BLM originally wanted to auction leases on 360,000 acres, but after criticism from the National Park Service, it dropped the total to 164,000 acres, the newspaper reported.