Stop geothermal drilling leases on 83,000 Nevada acres
Ely District Office 2026 Geothermal Competitive Lease Sale
Bureau of Land Management· Ely District Office administered lands, Ely District Office (EYDO) parcelsBLM NEPA Register DOI-BLM-NV-L000-2026-0002-EA ↗
BLM ePlanningWe track this on the agency’s own system of record, where most on-the-ground decisions live.
The groups on this fight
4 groups work Nevada
By footprint, from the same match the STAND matchmaker runs; none is linked to this decision in our record yet. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- Center for Biological Diversity
Works Nevada: sued the Bureau of Land Management in March 2024 over its failure to complete the overdue management plan for Basin and Range National Monument..
- Friends of Nevada Wilderness
Works Nevada: campaigned for the 2015 designation and petitioned Nevada's governor and senators to remove Basin and Range from the federal monument review..
- Friends of Red Rock Canyon
Works Nevada: they work only in Nevada.
- Tahoe Rim Trail Association
Works Nevada: nevada is one of the 2 states they work in.
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
The BLM plans to auction drilling rights on 83,000 public acres in Nevada, opening them to industrial geothermal development.
What’s at risk
Over 83,000 acres of Nevada public land face exploration drilling, road construction, and surface disturbance if these 25 parcels are leased. Wildlife habitat, water resources, and recreational access in the Ely District could all be permanently altered.
If this goes through
Once leases are sold, developers gain legal rights to drill and build infrastructure on these lands, making it very difficult to reverse the industrial footprint.
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
3 holes in the agency’s own analysis
What the public could have raised, from the agency’s own document
- I oppose this action as proposed, and I ask the agency to weigh the specific harms below.
- I oppose auctioning off geothermal drilling rights on 25 parcels totaling over 83,000 acres of Nevada public land without fully accounting for impacts to wildlife, vegetation, and water resources.
- Do not proceed with this October 20, 2026 lease sale until the BLM completes a thorough NEPA review of road construction and surface disturbance across all 25 Ely District parcels.
- These 83,000-plus acres of public land support recreational users who deserve a meaningful say before geothermal exploration drilling permanently alters access and terrain in the Ely District.
- Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.
In the agency’s own words
The BLM is considering offering 25 parcels in the EYDO, comprising approximately 83,150.15 acres of land within the area administered by the EYDO, in a competitive Geothermal Lease Sale to be held on October 20, 2026.
The reporting behind this
From More Than Just ParksIt’s referred to as Unit 346 in the Twin Mountain II Timber Sale. On the ground, it’s some of the most spectacular old growth we’ve ever witnessed, and it’s marked for clearcutting.
To document and do our part to save America’s greatest old growth forest
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