KSL: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he's scrapping the lease of dozens of parcels of federal land for oil and gas drilling in Utah's redrock country.
Salazar says the Bush administration rushed an auction in December of some of the country's most precious landscapes around national parks and the wild Green River.
Salazar on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Land Management, which is part of the Interior Department, not to cash checks from winning bidders for the parcels at issue in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups.
A federal judge last month put the sale of the 77 parcels on hold. Now Salazar is saying he won't sell any of them -- at least not until the Obama administration has a chance to take a second look.
In a news release, Salazar said, "We will take a fresh look at these 77 parcels and at the adequacy of the environmental review and analysis that led to their being offered for oil and gas development. I am also concerned that there was inadequate consultation with other agencies, including the National Park Service."
The parcels total about 130,225 acres and are in the vicinity of two national parks and Dinosaur National Monument.
It's welcome news by the Sierra Club:
"Today's announcement by Secretary Salazar signals a new era in the way our natural resources are managed. The Obama administration clearly understands that instead of allowing the oil industry to destroy places like Arches National Park, we should be investing in the kind of clean energy solutions that curb global warming and leave our natural treasures intact."
