Biden announces 20-year ban on oil and gas leasing in the Nevada region. It was just a few weeks before Trump’s inauguration.

The Biden administration is trying to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the West just weeks before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

on monday The Department of Interior has announced plans to implement a 20-year ban on oil and gas leasing in 264,000 acres of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains.

Management has filed a motion to withdraw the space from a potential lease. This initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now enters a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration.

“The Ruby Mountains are an outstanding landscape with excellent recreational opportunities. and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “Today’s action honors the voices of tribal and conservation communities and athletes. And it is another important step in protecting our precious landscape.”

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President Biden addresses the Department of Labor on December 1, September 16, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Deitch)

The Biden administration’s leasing restrictions do not impose restrictions on mining in the region.

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During Trump’s first administration The Forest Service has conducted a study to determine if 54,000 acres can be leased for oil and gas drilling in the Ruby Mountains.

The proposal was ultimately rejected in 2019 after a public comment period deemed it “Thousands of opinions from local areas, the state of Nevada, and from across the country” opposed the idea, according to William Dunkelberger, the superintendent of forestry who signed the decision.

Great Basin, Nevada, Elko County, Ruby Mountain, Lamoille Canyon (Dukas/International Photo Group)

Jenna Padilla, ranger district geologist Humboldt-Toiyabe Ruby Mountains at the time said that the geological survey It “shows there is little or no oil potential” in the region, the LA Times reported in 2018.

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It is unclear whether the Trump administration will consider possible leases in the region. But such action could face roadblocks in the Biden administration’s new proposals.