| Contacts: | David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist (970) 319-4130 | |||
| Steven Hall, Public Affairs Specialist, (303) 239-3672 |
BLM issues Proposed RMP/Final EIS for the Little Snake Field Office (08-13-10)
CRAIG, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management today released the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Little Snake Field Office in northwestern Colorado.
The plan provides a framework to guide subsequent management decisions on approximately 1.3 million acres of BLM-administered public lands and an additional 1.1 million acres of subsurface mineral estate administered by the Little Snake Field Office in Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco counties.
“The extensive involvement from the public and local interests for the past six years has been critical to developing this Resource Management Plan,” said Acting Little Snake Field Manager David Blackstun. “We have developed a plan that balances protection of sensitive resources with resource use.”
Major issues addressed in the Proposed Plan include energy and mineral development, special management areas such as lands with wilderness character and Wild and Scenic Rivers, transportation and travel management, and wildlife habitat – particularly for sage grouse and elk.
The Proposed Plan continues to allow oil and gas development on BLM managed lands and minerals, but adds new stipulations and conditions to ensure sensitive resources receive adequate protection. The 77,000-acre Vermillion Basin will be closed to oil and gas leasing under the Proposed Plan.
The Proposed Plan incorporates an adaptive management approach that allows for flexible, proactive management of public lands.
The Proposed Plan is now available for a 30-day public protest period, which ends Sept. 13, 2010. Information about the protest period is available at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/lsfo.html or by calling the Little Snake Field Office, (970) 826-5000. The Proposed Plan has also been sent to the Governor’s Office for a 60-day consistency review.
A Record of Decision that will detail the final decisions in the Resource Management Plan will be issued after the consistency review and resolution of any protests.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
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