On June 1, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management announced that it plans to move forward with the full leasing alternative for its Montana-Dakotas third-quarter oil and gas lease sale.
The sale, currently scheduled for July 14, would offer 66 parcels totaling 29,087 acres in Montana and North Dakota for oil and gas development.
During the public comment period, Montana Wildlife Federation and other organizations asked the BLM to consider deferring parcels where leasing could conflict with critical wildlife habitat and other sensitive areas. These lands are important to hunters, anglers, local communities and others who rely on healthy public lands and waters.
The BLM’s response raises concerns that reach far beyond this individual lease sale.
The BLM Says Its Hands Are Tied
In response to public comments, the BLM stated that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has restricted its authority to exercise discretion and defer individual parcels during the leasing process. According to the BLM, decisions about which lands may be offered for oil and gas leasing must be made during the broader land-use planning process—not during the scoping or public comment period for an individual lease sale.
That interpretation means the BLM may be unable to respond when hunters, anglers, ranchers, local communities and other members of the public raise valid concerns about current threats to wildlife habitat, recreation or water resources. It also locks leasing decisions into Resource Management Plans that may be decades old and no longer reflect changing conditions on the ground.
Public comment should give citizens a meaningful opportunity to influence decisions affecting public lands. It should not be a box-checking exercise conducted after the most important decisions have already been made.
A Dangerous Precedent for Public Lands
In response to the BLM’s position, Montana Wildlife Federation Executive Director Frank Szollosi released the following statement:
“The BLM’s claim that it cannot defer parcels during the public comment phase of oil and gas lease sales highlights the sheer absurdity of the legislative mess Congress created last year with its new leasing requirements. By arguing its hands are tied, the BLM is locking itself into Resource Management Plans that are often 20 to 30 years old—outdated frameworks that completely fail to reflect the changing conditions and realities on the ground today. Rather than forcing agencies to rely on decades-old planning decisions, Congress must step in immediately and explicitly restore the BLM’s authority to use some common-sense discretion to defer specific parcels when valid concerns are raised.”
The consequences of the BLM’s position could extend to future oil and gas lease sales in Montana and across the country.
Congress must restore the agency’s ability to consider current information, respond to public concerns and defer individual parcels when development could put wildlife, recreation, water resources or local communities at risk.
Featured photo by Lisa Ballard.
