Revenue from oil and gas production on federal and American Indian lands declines by almost 37% between 2015 and 2016 – and American Indian land development remains at a standstill. Since peaking in 2014 at $14 billion, revenue collected by the government from oil and gas production on federal and American Indian lands has been in decline – bottoming out in 2016 at $6 billion, which is the lowest total since 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Each year, money collected from royalties and rents, leases and fees is redistributed among those states where production occurred on federal lands. The states in turn apply the funds to their general budgets for legislative allocation. The funds collected from these lands has decreased along with oil prices, an EIA spokesperson told me. Royalties, which accounted for 86 percent of the total 2016 revenue, are valued based on the amount […]