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Conservationists aim to stop lease sale, worried about fracking in East Texas national forests

Dozens of environmental and conservation groups from East Texas and across the nation are calling on the Bureau of Land Management or BLM to stop an April 20 sale of federal oil and gas drilling leases on more than 36,000 acres, mostly in Texas.

They sent a letter Tuesday to the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies expressing concerns about the potential for hydraulic fracking in a trio of national forests: Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Sabine, according to Wendy Park, staff attorney with Tucson, Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity.

“In our view, fracking has no place in the national forests, especially not in these areas that are for lease. The areas that are available for leasing have numerous streams that run through them and those streams support wildlife and birds,” Park said.

The parcel leases up for auction include 31,000 acres of East Texas national forestland. The 132-page environmental assessment for parcels in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas comes up short, according to Rita Beving. She’s north Texas outreach coordinator for Clean Water Action, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. Beving says aquifers are misidentified or missing from the study.

“The assessment is woefully inadequate for three states worth of parcels. It doesn’t even identify the correct aquifers that underlie these lakes or these forests. It’s very cursory in nature and very inadequate,” Beving said.

The lease sale was advertised on BLM’s New Mexico State Office website. Park says comment letters must be received by close of business Feb. 19.

“It’s really important here that the public be involved in the decision because it commits these lands to industrial development for at least 10 years,” Park said.

The conservation groups are asking for public hearings on the matter.

The minimum opening bids on some parcels start at $2 per acre.BLM leases piece

Copyright 2016 Red River Radio

Chuck Smith brings more than 30 years' experience to Red River Radio having started out as a radio news reporter and moving into television journalism as a newsmagazine producer / host, talk-show moderator, programming director and managing producer and news director / anchor for commercial, public broadcasting and educational television. He has more recently worked in advertising, marketing and public relations as a writer, video producer and media consultant. In pursuit of higher learning, Chuck studied Mass Communications at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and motion picture / television production at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has also taught writing for television at York Technical College in Rock Hill, South Carolina and video / film production at Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport.