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Colorado’s Ken Salazar is facing his first major backlash as Secretary of the Interior.

A national civil rights group says Salazar is “going Hollywood on us” and caving into actor Robert Redford’s demands that American oil and gas leases in Utah be cancelled. He is also being accused of going counter to the spirit of economic stimulus by cancelling the leases. 

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) says higher energy prices will result from the decision to scrap the leases of 77 parcels of land for oil and gas drilling in Utah’s Redrock country. The group believes low-income families feel the effects of higher energy prices more so than any other income class.

“The losers are working parents, single mothers and elderly folks all over America, who count on abundant and affordable natural gas from states like Utah to remain employed, keep warm and stay alive,” said CORE spokesman Niger Innis.

Redford passionately criticized a lease auction held last December in which 77 parcels, totaling 130,000 acres, were put up for auction. The sales were worth $6 million to the government. But Salazar on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Land Management to not cash checks from winning bidders.

At the heart of the decision is a lawsuit filed by environmental groups. A federal judge put the sale of the 77 parcels on hold pending the outcome of the lawsuit — but Salazar took it a step further by refusing to sell any of the parcels until the new administration reviews the details.

“In the last weeks in office, the Bush administration rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases near some of our nation’s most precious landscapes in Utah,” Salazar said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters.

At the top of the “precious” list is Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument. Nine Mile Canyon, as well as sections of the Green River through Desolation Canyon are also being called into question by Salazar.

But Salazar is even being assailed by some in his own party over the decision. Wyoming Sen. Bill Vasey, chairman of Americans for American Energy, said the decision comes at a poor time, as Western states — like the rest of the nation — are facing severe budget shortfalls.

“As a state legislator who is right now looking at having to make hard choices at the state level in tough economic times, I know that natural resource developments is one of the few bright spots we have in the West,” said Vasey.

He added that Utah is already considering cutting back the length of its school year, and that cancelling oil and gas leases may exacerbate that situation.

Counterproductive?

Some say cancelling the leases runs counter to the purpose of stimulating the economy, which domestic oil production could play a major role in, especially in the West. 

CORE believes Salazar caved under pressure by extremist environmental groups. The group points out that natural gas from federal government lands in the Rocky Mountain region is a major component in heating millions of homes.

“When people are reeling from a bad economy, how can Ken Salazar justify listening to Hollywood elites like Robert Redford, instead of struggling consumers and low-income families who count on Salazar and the Interior Department to ensure that they will have access to the American energy they need?” asked Innis. “This is a very disappointing decision … It may very well end up freezing out some of America’s poor this winter.”

The AP contributed to this story

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