Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit Monday, challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s sale of oil and gas leases in Northern Nevada.
In June, the BLM offered nearly 200,000 acres of public lands in Nevada’s Battle Mountain area for fossil fuel development, including fracking.
The lawsuit was filed in Las Vegas by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club.
It argues the BLM failed to consider the potential consequences of oil drilling in the area.
About three parcels of land were sold, covering more than 5,700 acres, for as little as $2 per acre. This included the Big Smoky, Diamond and Railroad valleys and the Diamond, Fish Creek and Sulpher Creek mountain ranges.
