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BIDDER 70: TIM DECHRISTOPHER
In December 2008, in the waning days of the administration of President
George W. Bush, University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher learned
that the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the US Department
of the Interior, would be auctioning off thousands of acres of public land
in Utah for oil and gas development. DeChristopher, a budding climate
activist, headed to the auction in Salt Lake City, planning to make
a protest.
But when he got to the auction, his tactics changed. On the spur of the
moment, he registered as a bidder and began to bid on parcels of land,
forcing up prices for the energy companies that were also bidding.
Then, after almost half the parcels had been sold to energy companies,
DeChristopher bid even higher, making winning bids on thirteen parcels.
It soon became clear that he had no intention of actually buying the land
and no money to pay for it, and he was kicked out of the auction.
DeChristopher’s disruption of the auction temporarily kept certain lands
out of the hands of energy companies, and in early 2009, Ken Salazar,
secretary of the interior with the incoming Obama administration, voided
the Utah auction altogether. Salazar determined that the BLM had violated
federal rules in auctioning off the lands for energy development in the
first place.
Nevertheless,
DeChristopher had broken
the law. He was convicted
on felony charges and
sentenced to two years
in prison. Before and
after his prison term,
he toured the United
States, speaking about
the fight to protect Earth
and to prevent climate
change. He cofounded
the environmental group
Peaceful Uprising and
has become a hero in the
environmental movement.
Climate activist Tim DeChristopher speaks at
a protest in front of the US Capitol Building in
2014, one year after serving a prison sentence.
