The Biden administration is trying to implement last-minute restrictions on Oil and gas exploration In the West just weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Interior Department announced plans Monday to continue enforcing a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases on 264,000 acres of land. Ruby Mountains in Nevada.
Management has filed a request to divest the space from any potential leasing, resulting in a two-year moratorium on new mineral leases in the area being imposed during the approval process. The proposal now heads to a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration.
“The Ruby Mountains are an iconic natural area with exceptional recreational opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat that deserve to be preserved for the future,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “Today’s action honors the voices of tribal communities, conservation groups and sportsmen and represents another important step to protect our precious landscapes.”
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President Biden speaks at the Department of Labor on December 16, 2024 in Washington, DC (Kevin Deitch)
The Biden administration's lease restrictions do not place restrictions on mining in the area.
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During the first Trump administration, the Forest Service conducted a study to determine whether 54,000 acres could be leased for oil and gas exploration in the Ruby Mountains.
The proposal was ultimately rejected in 2019 after a public comment period saw “thousands of comments from the local area, the state of Nevada, and from across the country” opposing the idea, according to William Dunkelberger, the forest supervisor who signed the resolution.
Great Basin, Nevada, Elko County, Ruby Mountains, Lamoille Canyon. (Ducasse/Universal Image Collection)
Geological surveys “show there is low or no potential for oil” in the area, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2018, said Gina Padilla, a geologist with the Humboldt-Tuyab Ruby Mountains ranger district at the time.
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It is unclear whether Trump administration It will consider potential leases in the area, but such actions could face hurdles in the wake of the Biden administration's new proposal.
