LETTER: Oil and gas leases on public lands

How many times does the federal government have to auction the same public land for oil and gas leasing before it gets the message that nobody has a legitimate interest in it? Apparently, at least three times.

On Sept. 16, the Bureau of Land Management offered 14 parcels of Nevada public land, roughly 20,600 acres, for oil and gas development. Not one parcel received a single bid.

Rather than taking the hint, the Trump administration — prompted by a ridiculous new requirement that Congress put in place last year — doubled down, holding a “replacement” sale of the same unwanted parcels just two weeks after oil and gas companies declined to bid on them. The result? Again, not a single competitive bid. Shocking, I know.

And the absurdity doesn’t stop there. The very next day, a company came out of the woodwork and purchased nearly 6,000 acres of the lands over-the-counter, for no bid at all. This back-door process, known as noncompetitive leasing, is also courtesy of Congress’ new oil and gas leasing mandates under the One Big Beautiful Bill. Nevada knows how this ends. Noncompetitive leasing has a long history in our state of allowing speculators to pad their books by acquiring insanely cheap public lands that are hardly ever put into production or generate any return for taxpayers.

Call it what it is: speculation on the public’s dime. A lease can sit idle for a decade, and the land stays locked up the whole time, closed to recreation and conservation that Nevadans actually value.

Nevadans deserve better than a taxpayer-funded giveaway to oil and gas speculators. Our public lands should be managed for their many values, not endlessly kept available for oil and gas leasing until the deal finally becomes discounted enough for a speculator to take advantage of.

Nevada’s congressional delegation should push to end noncompetitive leasing. Our public lands deserve better than an auction on repeat.