Agency backs off from land auctions
Thursday, November 27, 2008 - 15:07
in Earth & Climate
Bureau of Land Management will defer oil and gas exploration leases for some sites close to national parks. Environmentalists had accused Bush administration of giving energy industry a 'parting gift. The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday backed off from plans to auction more than a dozen leases to explore for oil and gas on the doorstep of several national parks, deflecting accusations by environmental groups that it was handing a "parting gift" to the energy industry before the Obama administration takes over.