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New Bid To Drill For Oil And Gas In Nevada's Ruby Mountains

 

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Energy speculators are once again targeting a national forest in Nevada's Ruby Mountains for oil and gas drilling.

Critics say a second attempt to unlock the federal land for fossil fuel development is unlikely to succeed after the U.S. Forest Service determined in March that oil and gas leasing isn't suitable for the mountain range popular with hunters, fishermen and conservationists.

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The Forest Service says expressions of interest in a lease within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest were submitted anonymously through the Bureau of Land Management.

Forest Service officials told the Reno Gazette-Journal they don't intend to reanalyze lease requests they've already rejected.

Nevertheless, conservationists say it underscores the need to legislate permanent restrictions to protect public resources.

The new request covers more than 137 square miles.