The number of permits granted has not yet been disclosed.
A vast majority of permits granted each year are renewals, the parks department said.
Like other business permits granted by the Department of Public Works, even one objection will trigger a hearing.
The number of drilling permits granted on federal land in Colorado rose from 79 in 1996 to 650 in 2006.
The free permits, granted to companies with a market value of €4bn (£3.5bn), can be sold or kept for future use.
Building permits increased to the highest level since December, spurred by a more than 28 percent jump in permits granted for apartment and condo buildings.
Nearly half of the 241,811 permits granted by the state are now held by nonresidents, according to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which administers the permits.
Over the past decade the City has become a much more international place: since 1995, the number of work permits granted for financial-services jobs has doubled.
Environmentalists also criticize recent permits granted by federal wildlife and waterway agencies for new powerboat docks, a seaplane landing strip and boat ramps near manatee waters.
"The findings of the Queensland government's investigation puts in serious doubt the credibility of all permits granted over the 132,000 hectares approved for clearing across the state.
