This landscape, part of the Dry Creek proposed wilderness near Zion National Park, was one of three parcels removed from an oil and gas leasing sale by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management/copyright Luke Henry/SUWA

U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials on Friday announced that they would remove from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale several parcels near Zion National Park in southwestern Utah.

The three parcels included one that would straddle the Kolob Terrace Road north of Virgin that is used to reach the "roof" of the park. Back in January, BLM released a draft environmental analysis of proposed oil and gas leases in southwestern Utah to offer at a September 2017 sale. The BLM’s analysis concluded there would be no significant impact from leasing the proposed parcels.

However, three of the parcels, comprising 4,730 acres, are located in close proximity to Zion near the local gateway communities of Toquerville and Virgin, Utah. Two of the three parcels are two miles from the southwest border of the park. Their location prompted a landslide of public comments against the leasing of the parcels.

The move to withdraw the parcels was applauded by conservationists, including the National Parks Conservation Association and the Sierra Club.

The BLM made the decision after considering more than 40,000 public comments and hearing from local business leaders and resident, NPCA staff said in a release. Formal resolutions were passed in Washington County and the gateway towns of Springdale and Toquerville supporting removal of the parcels of land next to Zion from the lease sale. 

“Today’s announcement by the BLM to remove the upcoming oil and gas leases near Zion National Park is absolutely the right decision and great news for one of our country’s most beloved national parks and its surrounding communities," said David Nimkin, NPCA's Southwest regional director. “Pumpjacks and drill rigs, heavy-duty truck traffic, flaring of natural gas, the threat of air and water pollution and other infrastructure from industrial oil and gas activities have no place next to Zion National Park. Millions of visitors come to Zion every year, making it a major driver of southwestern Utah’s robust recreation and tourism economy. Industrial activities would degrade the stunning views, natural quiet, and dark night skies that draw visitors to the park."

There are currently no producing wells in the region, and BLM is under no requirement to offer the parcels for lease. Moreover, the oil and gas industry has leased, but not developed roughly 2 million acres of BLM-managed lands in Utah, said NPCA.

At the Sierra Club, Lena Moffitt, senior director of the organization's Wild America Campaign, said the parcels shouldn't have been included in the lease at all.

“Today’s news is proof that public pressure has the power to shut down proposals that would threaten our public lands, our climate, and our communities. As the Trump administration continues to float disastrous policies like opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling or rescinding our national monuments, we will work to harness this power and fight to protect our public lands," she said.  “Unfortunately, the fact that this outrageous proposal was on the table in the first place speaks volumes about the need to reform our broken leasing process to better account for the economic, public health, and climate impacts of leasing public lands for oil and gas drilling. The American people will continue to speak out until Trump listens to them and not the corporate polluters filling his cabinet and campaign coffers.”