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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Bureau of Land Management wants to set aside 1.9 million acres of public land in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming for oil shale development.
The oil is locked beneath the Green River formation in the three states. BLM officials estimate it contains about 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Despite BLM's latest study, there's still several logistical and regulatory hurdles to get over before large-scale development can begin. President Bush has urged Congress to lift its moratorium that essentially prohibits leasing for oil shale on public lands.
The BLM's study released Thursday also says 305,000 acres of land it manages in the proposed development area should be excluded from leasing. Those spots include wilderness areas, wilderness study areas and other places the BLM says are important for the environment.
Information from: Deseret News
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
