In a change of tone, Utah governor Gary Herbert has backpedaled and asked the federal government not to allow oil and gas drilling around the famous park

When Utah governor Gary Herbert changed his mind last week and decided oil and gas companies should not be allowed to drill near Zion national park, it seemed like a remarkable change of tone.

The Republican has been a staunch advocate for rolling back public land protections and had earlier endorsed the idea of drilling near the 229 sq mile park. In February, he signed a resolution urging Donald Trump to rescind national monument status for the 1.3m acres known as Bears Ears in south-eastern Utah. Doing so would allow expansion of current leases for oil and gas development and grazing.

Republican politicians from Utah, including congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, have led the conservative push to transfer national land to the states and sell off millions of acres to private interests.

Last week, however, Herbert declared: “In keeping with our current economic track, I support the tourism and recreation economies and not leasing the parcels that have helped define Washington County and the state of Utah.”

But recreation advocates were quick to caution that the move does not signal a larger victory for them in the war over public lands, whose main battlefields are Utah and the south-west.

Herbert had “lots of political cover” in changing his mind, said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “Local governments, as well as the county, as well as local businesses, were all already on record saying this was the wrong place for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to put these lands up for lease.

“It was a pretty low bar for the governor to cross, for the governor to say, ‘Not here’,” Bloch continued. “While we’re pleased that the governor spoke up, this was the lowest bar to cross. This is a one-off.”

With its soaring sandstone cliffs, steep canyons, flowing waters and endless vistas, Zion is one of the most visited national parks in the US. It is also an important economic engine for south-western Utah, drawing more than 4 million visitors and their wallets in 2016, an increase of 2.7 million in the past six years alone.

The federal Bureau of Land Management, which oversees more than 245m acres of public land, announced in January that it was offering leases for oil and gas drilling on more than 4,000 acres in south-western Utah. Of the three leases up for bid, two were located less than two miles from Zion.

Environmentalists and outdoor recreation advocates decried the proposed lease sale, arguing that, if allowed, drilling activity could be seen and heard from the sanctity of the national park. But Herbert supported the proposal.

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Not long after, he signed a bill asking Trump to repeal federal protection of the 1.3m-acre Bears Ears national monument, further evidence that Utah is leading the efforts roll back protections for public land. In protest, officials at Outdoor Retailer announced in February that the industry’s largest trade show would no longer be held in Salt Lake City.

The lease sale was first scheduled for June, then pushed back to September. The BLM received more than 40,000 public comments on the proposed oil and gas leases. Elected officials in the area – the Toquerville city council, the Springdale town council and the Washington County commissioners – passed nearly identical resolutions opposing the possibility of drilling near Zion national park.

Among the cautionary “whereases” in the local objections: “Whereas, allowing oil and gas development along the scenic highways enjoyed by residents and visitors alike may detract from the scenic nature of the area and negatively impact the visitor experience.”

And: “Whereas, the town of Springdale derives significant amounts of its revenue from visitation in and around Zion national park”.

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Herbert took the hint and on 30 May wrote to the BLM’s Utah state director asking that the federal government stop the leases.

“If the leases move forward,” the governor wrote, “it will create barriers to the development of much-needed infrastructure. Current and future investors would be rightly concerned about a threat from industrial infrastructure that would diminish the value” of proposed recreational amenities.

Kirsten Rappleye, Herbert’s spokeswoman, said the governor had no comment on the decision beyond the 30 May letter.

On Friday, the BLM announced that it has “deferred” the three leases around Zion national park for future evaluation.



The response from park and environment advocates was swift and positive, but cautious. “Has the state turned over a new leaf? I think there will have to be more evidence first,” said Marc Thomas, chairman of the Sierra Club’s Utah chapter. “At this point, because of the political cover from elected officials in the area, it may be a one-time incident rather than a new policy. But we can always be hopeful.”

David Nimkin, senior regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, said the BLM’s change of heart was significant because under the Trump administration the agency has “presumably a new mandate”.

Nimkin’s territory is the embattled south-west, and he told the Guardian that his organization is “going to take this as a hopeful sign”, evidence that local voices still matter and will be taken into consideration.

But it also “underscores a process that this administration, the Trump administration, is most likely going to be eliminating”, Nimkin said. “Their objective is that they want energy independence. That means there should be no obstacles to any energy development.”