Allowing 90% of the United States’ public land to be leased by oil and gas industry is an egregious overreach by environmentally devastating companies. President Trump’s withdrawal of public land opens up even more land for exploitation by fracking.  Rather than putting America’s public land under review in order to find land that has extractable resources, I believe the government should assemble a team of conservationists to identify high priority areas that would be available to the public for wildlife conservation and recreation.  The BLM has a responsibility to restore balance to the use of public land. Allowing 90% of America’s public land to be leased by oil and gas industry is contrary to the BLM’s mission to “sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.” (BLM) Instead of putting American land up for review by individuals interested in abusing its resources, a review board interested in prioritizing the most essential land for preservation and recreation would promote the BLM’s mission.  The remaining land could then still be available for lease by oil and gas industries.  Land should only be up for leasing if it has high potential to yield oil and offers little opportunity for wildlife and recreation.  America’s public lands should not be leased to oil and gas industry unless there is no other economically viable alternative and only after a thorough environmental examination of the area is conducted where it is determined if there are any unique or scientifically important sites are on the land.

The BLM incorporates Rapid Ecoregional Assessments in order to “improve the understanding of the existing condition of affected landscapes and how conditions may be altered by ongoing environmental changes and land use demands.” (wilderness.org) While the BLM is surveying to gain data about the best use of public land, not much has been done regarding conservation interests in response to Trump’s withdrawal of public land in Utah.  I hope to see the data collected through these assessments to be used to find the best ways to protect fish and wildlife habitat within existing public lands.  These plans also will be useful in determining land that is fit for leasing by oil and gas companies.  While Trump and Zinke claim to be surveying the land for this same reason, there are already great imbalances in the leasing arrangements that were already established.  The BLM should use these Rapid Ecoregional Assessments to reorganize the distribution and amount of land available for lease by oil and gas companies to create a more even and environmentally conscious split between preservation and industrial interests.

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In order to balance the interests of both environmental organizations and oil and gas companies, the BLM must provide a detailed assessment and report that locates essential land for recreation and conservation as well as land they believe is most useful for oil and gas companies.  This land should not infringe upon any Native American religious sites in order to respect the religious freedom provided to Americans. The BLM has a responsibility to set aside land for recreational and environmental use.  If it allows oil and gas companies to take over more public land, they will cause irreversible environmental damage that will devastate many of Americans natural wonders.  I recommend that the BLM should assemble a team of scientist and tribal leaders to determine the most fit land for conservation in order to come up with a solution that is acceptable to both environmentalists and oil and gas companies.