Marshall’s Blog | Crazy Mormon Lib

Ken Salazar, the Secretary of Interior, announced today that the Bush administration’s last-minute efforts to lease public land in Utah to oil and gas companies is on indefinite hold. This is great news for anyone who cares about protecting wilderness in Utah and the rest of the country.

It’s also great news for Tim DeChristopher, the University of Utah student who disrupted and delayed the auction by getting in and bidding on the land. He successfully drove up the prices and won over 22,000 acres worth about $1.8 million. He didn’t have the money, but he was able to raise enough for the down payment. His act of civil disobedience stalled the lease sales long enough that the Obama administration could take a look at it.

So, today is a huge victory. The only people not celebrating are the oil and gas companies and the U.S. Attorney for Utah, Brett L. Tolman. Here is an excerpt from his press release today:

“Today’s decision by the Interior Department to withdraw the BLM oil and gas leases in Utah does not impact our obligation to analyze the facts and law at the time of the alleged conduct in the DeChristopher case. The decision to withdraw the leases does not wipe the slate clean.  We are obligated to enforce the law, a responsibility we take very seriously.  As we do with every case referred to our office, we will continue to carefully review the facts in this case and, if appropriate, present it to a grand jury.  Because it is an ongoing criminal investigation, we will not be making further comment.”

So, even though the auction was illegitimate to begin with, DeChristopher is the one who is still on the hook for delaying it. That’s American justice for you. The person with the least amount of power and influence will inevitably get stuck with the bill.

It’s still a great day, and if you have a chance, stop by www.peacefuluprising.org and tell Tim thanks.