| Contacts: | Jim Sample: 303-239-3861 |
BLM Defers Leasing Geothermal Parcel Near Buena Vista
DENVER— The BLM Colorado State Office today announced that it is deferring a 799-acre
parcel of subsurface geothermal lands near Buena Vista and Mt. Princeton Hot Springs from a
scheduled BLM lease sale on Feb. 11, 2010.
“The parcel will undergo further environmental review and analysis,” said Greg Shoop, BLM Front
Range District Manager. “We received several substantive comments in writing after our Jan. 14
public information meeting in Buena Vista that caused us to decide to further review the current
stipulations on the parcel.”
This was the third time the parcel had been listed for possible sale at a BLM auction. It was deferred
from the Sept. 2009 sale to allow adequate time for Tribal consultations. The parcel was deferred
from the Nov. 2009 at the request of the Director of the Colorado Division of Natural Resources,
so the BLM and the Colorado Division of Natural Resources (DNR) could review their respective
regulatory requirements to develop the parcel. This is the first Federal geothermal parcel
that was offered for sale in Colorado.
“We want to assure the public that the environmental analysis process was thoroughly followed before
the parcel is offered for sale,” Shoop said. No date has been set for offering the geothermal parcel at a
future auction.
The offering of 11 oil and gas parcels encompassing 3,511 acres in the same Feb. 11 lease sale
will continue as planned. All of the parcels listed are overseen by the BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Office
in Cañon City. All of BLM Colorado’s lease sales are held at the Bureau’s State Office in Lakewood.
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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