EnergyNet auctions off oil and gas leases for state and federal lands—and business is booming under the Trump Administration.
As the Trump Administration has taken steps to expand oil and gas drilling, advocates have sounded the alarm against the privatization and destruction of protected open space. But one company has carved out a niche as "the platform through which this massive opening of federal lands for energy extraction will happen."
In Outside Online, Mya Frazier profiles EnergyNet, an online auction platform specializing in oil and gas leases. Thanks to exclusive contracts with state agencies and the Bureau of Land Management, leases for public land accounted for fully half the site's business—$600 million in transactions—in 2017.
In the piece, Frazier outlines the lobbying and business practices that have enabled the Texas company to make public land auctions increasingly profitable, frequent, and tucked away from public scrutiny or protest.
FULL STORY: The Private Company Selling Off America's Public Lands
Trump Administration Reopens California Public Lands to Oil and Gas Drilling
A decision by the Bureau of Land Management on Oct. 3 may reverse the outcome of a 2013 lawsuit against the Obama administration by two environmental groups that effectively halted drilling in Fresno, Monterey and San Benito counties.
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As the Department of the Interior auctions off 'vast swaths' of American wilderness to oil and gas companies, fiscal conservatives and conservationists alike wonder if it’s the right thing at the right time.
Western Conservationists, Tribes File Legal Motion to Defend Public Lands Rule
Some states and industry groups have sued to stop the Bureau of Land Management from enforcing the new rule, which promotes the conservation and restoration of public lands and shifts focus away from extractive uses.
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Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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