Synopsis: Protest of BLM Utah 2026 First Quarter Oil & Gas Lease Sale Environmental Assessment
On February 24, 2026, a coalition of conservation organizations and trail advocates submitted a formal protest of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Utah 2026 First Quarter Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale (DOI-BLM-UT-0000-2026-0001-EA).
The protest challenges BLM’s compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Trails System Act (NTSA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and the agency’s own national trail management policies. Specifically, the protest argues that the EA fails to adequately assess impacts to the Old Spanish National Historic Trail (OSNHT), particularly along the Northern Route near proposed lease parcels 7772, 7824, and 7825 in the Moab and Monticello Field Office areas.
Key concerns include:
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Failure to meet NEPA’s “hard look” standard, including reliance on erroneous or misleading information regarding the proximity of lease parcels to the OSNHT.
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Lack of a legally required Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for the OSNHT, now more than two decades overdue under the NTSA.
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Failure to designate and publish a statutory right-of-way for the Trail, as required by federal law.
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Absence of required inventories and a Trail Management Corridor under BLM Manual 6280, undermining proper analysis of potential impacts.
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Inaccurate mapping and alignment representations, which the protest asserts have confused both the agency’s analysis and the public’s ability to meaningfully comment.
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Failure to amend applicable Resource Management Plans (RMPs) to incorporate OSNHT protections and management requirements.
The protest contends that, without fulfilling these statutory and policy mandates, the lease sale analysis is legally insufficient and “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”
To read the full protest, click here.