Conservation groups urge BLM to further scale back Wyoming oil and gas lease sale
A coalition of conservation organizations submitted comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the Wyoming BLM’s Third Quarter 2026 competitive oil and gas lease sale. The proposed sale initially analyzed 276 parcels covering more than 357,000 acres. The BLM’s modified alternative would reduce the sale to 118 parcels covering about 152,250 acres, including deferrals for greater sage-grouse habitat, lack of U.S. Forest Service consent, and other conflicts. The coalition supports those reductions but urges BLM to go further.
The comments argue that BLM must not rely on a claimed “national energy emergency” or internal leasing directives to shortcut legally required environmental review. The coalition states that BLM retains the authority—and in many cases the obligation—to defer lease parcels where oil and gas leasing would conflict with wildlife habitat, cultural and scenic resources, climate protection, groundwater, or other public land values.
The coalition specifically asks BLM to defer additional parcels that overlap greater sage-grouse Priority and General Habitat Management Areas, big game crucial winter range and migration habitat, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, low oil and gas development potential areas, and lands requiring Forest Service leasing consent. The comments also fault the Draft EA for treating all parcels as having a high preference for leasing, even where the parcels overlap sensitive habitat or other conservation conflicts.
Beyond parcel-specific concerns, the letter calls for a more complete analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, climate impacts, groundwater risks, mitigation measures, and public transparency. It also asks BLM to disclose whether artificial intelligence tools were used in the leasing review or response-to-comments process.
Bottom line: The coalition urges BLM to adopt a more protective approach before finalizing the lease sale—one that follows NEPA and FLPMA, applies leasing preference criteria consistently, protects sage-grouse and big game habitat, safeguards special management areas and groundwater, and ensures public lands are managed for long-term public benefit rather than rushed oil and gas leasing.
Read the full submission here.