30 U.S.C. § 226-3 : US Code - Section 226-3: Lands not subject to oil and gas leasing

Search 30 U.S.C. § 226-3 : US Code - Section 226-3: Lands not subject to oil and gas leasing

(a) Prohibition
The Secretary shall not issue any lease under this chapter or
under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 [30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.] on
any of the following Federal lands:
(1) Lands recommended for wilderness allocation by the surface
managing agency.
(2) Lands within Bureau of Land Management wilderness study
areas.
(3) Lands designated by Congress as wilderness study areas,
except where oil and gas leasing is specifically allowed to
continue by the statute designating the study area.
(4) Lands within areas allocated for wilderness or further
planning in Executive Communication 1504, Ninety-Sixth Congress
(House Document numbered 96-119), unless such lands are allocated
to uses other than wilderness by a land and resource management
plan or have been released to uses other than wilderness by an
act of Congress.
(b) Exploration
In the case of any area of National Forest or public lands
subject to this section, nothing in this section shall affect any
authority of the Secretary of the Interior (or for National Forest
Lands reserved from the public domain, the Secretary of
Agriculture) to issue permits for exploration for oil and gas,
coal, oil shale, phosphate, potassium, sulphur, gilsonite or
geothermal resources by means not requiring construction of roads
or improvement of existing roads if such activity is conducted in a
manner compatible with the preservation of the wilderness
environment.