The US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management is weighing a proposal to allow oil and gas leasing on about 5,200 acres of federal mineral estate beneath Utah's Ouray National Wildlife Refuge near Vernal, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.
The BLM intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan Amendment and associated environmental assessment to the Vernal Resource Management Plan, and has opened a 30-day public scoping period to gather comments on the proposal, according to a Federal Register notice set to publish Thursday.
The planning area lies in Uintah County, where the US Fish and Wildlife Service manages the surface acreage as part of the refuge.
The agency is weighing two preliminary alternatives, a "No Action Alternative" to keep the refuge closed to leasing and a "Proposed Action" that would open the underlying minerals to leasing subject to a no-surface-occupancy stipulation.
Under that restriction, any lease development would have to be carried out through directional or horizontal drilling from well pads outside the refuge boundary, according to the notice.
The BLM said it identified seven preliminary issues for analysis in the planning process and is inviting public comment on the planning criteria.
The process will also address potential effects on threatened and endangered species and cultural resources under the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, the notice said.
The agency cited the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, along with the Mineral Leasing Act, as part of its planning framework.
The BLM said the effort aligns with Secretary's Order 3418, which supports President Donald Trump's executive order "Unleashing American Energy," aimed at expanding energy exploration and production on federal lands.
Comments on the proposal and planning criteria will be accepted until Oct. 5, 2026, according to the BLM.
The BLM will also hold a public meeting scheduled for 5-7 p.m. on Sep. 22 at the Vernal Field Office, according to BLM's statement.
The BLM said oil and gas development on its managed lands in Utah provides the state a $3 billion economic boost, with BLM oil and gas activity nationwide contributing an additional $177 billion to the US economy.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the existing Vernal Resource Management Plan, completed in 2008, currently bars all oil and gas access beneath the refuge, reversing restrictions last affirmed under the George W. Bush administration.
The Trump administration has also opened Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, exempted offshore oil development in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act, and reduced royalty rates, air quality controls and other environmental safeguards, according to Bloomberg.