New Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has canceled the controversial leases to drill for gas and oil near Arches and Canyonlands national parks. The leases were auctioned waning weeks of the Bush administration. Mr. Salazar says the Bush administration improperly “rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases at the doorstep of some of our greatest national icons, some of our nation’s most treasured landscapes."

But he did not rule out drilling on the lands in the future after a proper review.

The cancellation, of course, delights monkey wrencher Tim DeChristopher, who sabatoged the December lease auction by winning bids on $1.8 million in parcels with no intention of paying up:

That's excellent. That's wonderful. That's the kind of strong stance we need our leaders to be taking.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the bogus bidding and may still file fraud charges against DeChristopher.

Natural Resources Defense Council trustee and Utahn Robert Redford also applauds the Obama administration's move to protect "some of the last pristine places on Earth."