Rant of the Week: Tim DeChristopher sabotages BLM oil and gas lease sale

So I’ve been ranting about this controversial lease sale in Utah where areas surrounding Arches National Park are being leased. This lease sale took place December 19th and most definitely did not come off without a hitch. First of all, there were many protestors outside the BLM State Office, but that wasn’t the truly unique aspect of this lease sale. Environmentalist Tim DeChristopher got into the auction room and posing as an industry representative, outbid oil and gas companies for many of those controversial parcels. In fact, he won $1.7 million in leases on 22,000 acres. He is currently being investigated for any wrongdoing. The BLM isn’t sure whether the lease sale will stand. See this Salt Lake Tribune article for more information, and a High Country News op-ed.

Despite the fact that I argued BLM has the right to lease these areas and that I don’t see that they’ve done anything illegal here, I have to say that this is pretty sweet. I thought this was a pretty cool idea and I have often wondered before why more enviros don’t bid on lease parcels. I wonder what the requirements are to bid and/or be granted a lease? This page offers a lot of info on lease sales:

Under “Lessee Qualifications and Limitations,” it states:

Federal oil and gas leases may be obtained and held by any adult citizen of the United States. No lease may be acquired by a minor, but a lease may be issued to a legal guardian or trustee on behalf of a minor. Associations of citizens and corporations organized under the laws of the United States or of any State also qualify.

Aliens may hold interests in leases only by stock ownership in U.S. corporations holding leases and only if the laws of their country do not deny similar privileges to citizens of the United States. They may not hold a lease interest through units in a publicly traded limited partnership.

If those are the only requirements, how come Mr. DeChristopher wasn’t a legal participant? If he doesn’t pay, the leases should be pulled. But what if he does pay? What power does the government have to indict Tim? However, fraud certainly could be a problem, because he can’t pay for these leases. Well, he is trying. He’s trying to come up with an initial down payment of $45,000 by January 9 and is taking donations here. (I think I’ll save my money for something else, thank you very much, but this is a good opportunity for enviros to put their money where their mouth is. Robert Redford, have you contributed yet?).

Now, some folks are saying Tim is their hero for standing up to the evil Bush administration’s BLM. Well, that would only apply if BLM is breaking the law by offering these leases, and if they are, they will get nailed in court. If they’re not, then what Tim is protesting is really regular-old oil and gas leasing laws which have been around for decades. So what the BLM did might have been legal, and what Tim did was probably illegal. But maybe this isn’t a huge distinction to Tim; maybe he doesn’t care whether BLM was justified in offering the parcels for lease or not. There are many examples of people protesting unjust laws. It wasn’t legal for Rosa Parks to sit in the front of the bus, was it? Leasing our federal minerals for development is not some unjust travesty in my view, but heck, if you think it is and you are willing to pay the price for your civil disobedience as Tim is, then by all means, have at it. It will be very interesting to see how this all shakes out.

1/11/09 UPDATE:
Tim was able to raise the $45,000 down payment on his leases. Only $45,000 shy of $1.7 million to go.