Originally published Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 3:57 PM

Conservation groups fight "fire sale" of oil-and-gas drilling leases in Utah

Sale of oil-and-gas drilling leases in Utah, including some near Canyonlands National Park, protested by conservation groups

By The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — Conservation groups are formally protesting what they call a "fire sale" of oil-and-gas drilling leases offered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management later this month.

The Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a protest Thursday over 92 parcels of land totaling 100,000 acres in wild areas of eastern Utah.

The auction parcels are along the White River, Desolation and Labyrinth canyons on the Green River and near Canyonlands National Park.

Separately, the fishermen's group Trout Unlimited says it's protesting lease sales near the Deep Creek Mountains in Utah's west desert. Trout Unlimited says drilling threatens recovery programs for native Bonneville cutthroat trout.

The BLM's auction is set for Dec. 19.

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