On March 5, Interior Secretary Zinke announced that he was removing 17,300 acres of our public lands from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale scheduled for March 13, 2018. The acres spared include parcels near Livingston, Montana—the “gateway to Yellowstone”—and along the iconic Beartooth Front. These areas rely heavily on tourism and would be devastated by oil and gas leasing.
Zinke’s announcement comes after Guardians, allies, and a number of Livingston-area landowners filed a January protest against the March oil and gas lease sale.
Nevertheless, more work remains to be done to provide permanent protection for these areas, as well as for the rest of Montana. The upcoming sale still includes 46,200 acres of public lands, including a parcel directly adjacent to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.
Read the press release.
