NRDC Blocks Drilling in Redrock Wilderness

Via Mrs. coldH2O & NRDC.

In a major victory for Utah's spectacular Redrock canyonlands, a federal court has ruled that the Bureau of Land Management broke the law by rushing to sell oil and gas leases on 16 parcels of wilderness-quality lands. NRDC and our partner, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, filed a lawsuit to block the sale after the agency failed to consider the potentially devastating environmental impacts of putting oil and gas rigs in parts of Desolation Canyon, the Book Cliffs and the Flat Tops wilderness areas, among other fragile wildlands. Our court victory underscores more than ever the need to permanently protect the Redrock Wilderness, which provides important habitat for cougars, bighorn sheep, bald eagles and other wildlife. BioGems Defenders are urging Congress to pass "America's Redrock Wilderness Act," which would safeguard millions of acres of southern Utah's most spectacular mountains, canyons and rivers.