Salazar going Hollywood?

The Denver Daily News reports:

Colorado’s Ken Salazar is facing his first major backlash as Secretary of the Interior. A national civil rights group says Salazar is “going Hollywood on us” and caving into actor Robert Redford’s demands that American oil and gas leases in Utah be cancelled. He is also being accused of going counter to the spirit of economic stimulus by cancelling the leases. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) says higher energy prices will result from the decision to scrap the leases of 77 parcels of land for oil and gas drilling in Utah’s Redrock country. The group believes low-income families feel the effects of higher energy prices more so than any other income class. “The losers are working parents, single mothers and elderly folks all over America, who count on abundant and affordable natural gas from states like Utah to remain employed, keep warm and stay alive,” said CORE spokesman Niger Innis. Redford passionately criticized a lease auction held last December in which 77 parcels, totaling 130,000 acres, were put up for auction. The sales were worth $6 million to the government. But Salazar on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Land Management to not cash checks from winning bidders. But Salazar is even being assailed by some in his own party over the decision. Wyoming Sen. Bill Vasey, chairman of Americans for American Energy, said the decision comes at a poor time, as Western states — like the rest of the nation — are facing severe budget shortfalls. “As a state legislator who is right now looking at having to make hard choices at the state level in tough economic times, I know that natural resource developments is one of the few bright spots we have in the West,” said Vasey. He added that Utah is already considering cutting back the length of its school year, and that cancelling oil and gas leases may exacerbate that situation...