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Bonus bids at the Bureau of Land Management's May 8 oil and gas lease sale in Billings totaled $3,950,025.The highest single-parcel bid was $238,400 submitted by Western Land Service, Inc. of Sheridan, Wyo., for a 596-acre BLM parcel managed by the Miles City Field Office and located in Richland County, Mont. TDB Resources, L.P. of Salt Lake City, Utah, submitted the highest per-acre bid at $2,800 per acre for a 41-acre BLM parcel also located in Richland County.All 151 parcels offered, totaling just under 52,807 acres, received bids. A total of 149 parcels were located in Montana, with one parcel each located in North Dakota and South Dakota.Additional information regarding competitive sale lists, detailed results of sales, and the leasing process is available by writing the Bureau of Land Management, 5001 Southgate Dr., Billings, Mont. 59101, by calling (406) 896-5004, or at www.blm.gov/mt.Oil and gas leasing is driven by consumer demand, and competitive oil and gas lease sales are conducted on a quarterly basis at BLM's Montana/Dakotas State Office. Receipts from federal oil and gas leases are shared with the state or county where the lands are located. All leases are issued for a 10-year term.Potential environmental effects that could result from exploration and development are analyzed before any leases are offered for sale. All leases come with conditions on oil and gas activities to protect the environment that can include limits on when drilling can occur or restrictions on surface occupancy. Once an operator proposes exploration or development on a BLM-issued lease, further environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is conducted to determine the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting or mitigation measures. In addition, many operators routinely use Best Management Practices such as remote monitoring of producing wells and multiple wells per pad to minimize surface impacts.