(Lander, WY) – The Wyoming State Office of the Bureau of Land Management has announced that it will hold an additional oil and gas lease sale at the end of 2025 in order to meet requirements of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The announcement prompted a response from the Lander-based Wyoming Wildlife Federation, which says the additional lease sale “puts several important wildlife habitats back on the table and illustrates the challenges created by the rigid leasing requirements in the OBBBA.”
“The 34 parcels now being re-offered received no bids in an earlier sale, signaling limited industry interest even as the Act requires their return to auction,” the WWF said in a statement last week.
None of the parcels proposed for leasing are in Fremont County, WWF Communications Manager Bekka Mongeau told County 10 this week, but 31 overlap with greater sage grouse general habitat management areas, five overlap with crucial winter range for big game, and one overlaps with the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor.
“The 26,000 acres being offered again include habitat important for sage grouse, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn, but so unimportant to oil and gas companies that they passed on them just last week,” WWF Policy Director Nat Paterson said. “Because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act mandates repeated lease sales on a tight timeline, land managers have very little flexibility in determining what should be offered. Thoughtful improvements to the Act would help ensure leasing efforts reflect on-the-ground realities, support responsible energy development where it’s viable, and sustain the wildlife and outdoor heritage Wyomingites care about.”