Yes I believe fracking prohibition was a factor behind Obama’s decision to unleash the BLM dogs.
Last week I heard directly a top manager of one of the USA’s biggest pipeline operators in the Bakken say that environmentalists told Obama that if he allowed Keystone to go forward that they would ‘crucify’ him. What they meant by that is anybody’s guess but one can speculate that it means to drop his protection from investigations, lawsuits, impeachment etc.
The environmentalists in California are militant about fracking there. It’s not a stretch for them to look at having BLM close off huge sections of lands for a desert tortoise or some contrived pretext especially when such lands are available for oil and gas leases involving fracking.
So yes it is not only plausible but actually probable.
Fracking is Schlumberger’s baby, a French origin but mostly International Expat company that has the patents on it. They are very slick at getting in the business quietly. Opposing fracking would probably get the French angry at lodge a complaint at the WTO. Some games are going on.