U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Colorado
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| Glenwood Springs Field Office Information | ||||||
Welcome to the Glenwood Springs Field Office (GSFO) of the Bureau of Land Management located in Silt, Colorado. The GSFO administers 567,000 acres of public land in: Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Routt, Mesa and Rio Blanco Counties in Colorado. Public lands administered by the GSFO extend from Vail in the east to Parachute in the west and from Toponas in the north to Aspen in the south. In brief the GSFO manages: 9 special recreation management areas, 14 developed recreation sites, which include 6 river access sites to the Colorado and Eagle Rivers, 4 wilderness study areas, 10 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (4 new with the Roan Plateau RMP amendment) and the Hubbard Mesa Off-Highway Vehicle Riding Area. Approximately 90 outfitters and guides are under permit and available to assist visitors in a variety of upland and river activities. The GSFO also administers 255 grazing allotments with 151 permittees, 100-200 rights-of-way and 24 communication sites each year. Population growth is changing the face of north-central Colorado. Today there is more residential, industrial and commercial development than ever before near or adjacent to public lands. The GSFO shares over 1700 miles of boundary with private property and over 80% of the public lands administered by the GSFO is within one mile of private property. The land management challenges are most complex at the juncture of private and public lands, the wildland-urban interface (WUI) zone. To protect our resources and accommodate a growing population, the GSFO actively embraces local partners in order to solve WUI issues like: recreation, aesthetics, open space, wildland fire, right-of-ways, land use permits and resource protection. The GSFO Resource Management Plan (RMP) or land use plan was approved in January, 1984. This RMP provides management direction to approximately 566,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands with the GSFO. To stay current with the social, economic and environmental changes facing public land management, the RMP has been updated eight times: 1991 – EIS-Level Amendment for Oil and Gas Leasing and Development 1997 – EA-Level Amendment for Colorado Land Health Standards 1997 – EA-Level Amendment for Castle Peak Travel Management Plan 1999 – EIS-Level Supplemental Amendment for Oil and Gas Leasing Development 1999 – EA-Level Amendment for Red Hill Management Plan 2001 – EA-Level Amendment for Oil Shale Revocation 2004 – EA-Level Amendment for Fire Management Plan 2007 – EIS-Level Amendment for the Roan Plateau Area 2008 – Beginning RMP Revision process Interagency Energy Team Energy produced from Federal lands and waters is critical to meeting the nation’s energy needs. In fact, almost one third of all energy currently produced in America comes from Federal lands and waters. Through the Energy Policy Act of 2005, President George W. Bush and Congress have demonstrated their continuing intention to secure America’s energy future by promoting dependable, affordable, and environmentally sound energy production. Section 365 of the Act establishes seven “Pilot Offices” in the Rocky Mountain region, including what’s now called the Energy Office in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, to address increasing demand for oil and gas on Federal lands in this region. The Energy Office brings multiple agencies involved in oil and gas management within the Glenwood Springs Field Office boundaries together under one roof. The staff is an interagency mix of positions, ranging from petroleum engineers and land law examiners to natural resource specialists and wildlife biologists. This office addresses a variety of responsibilities, including completing environmental analyses, protecting wildlife, cultural resources and threatened and endangered species, conducting monitoring and compliance activities, and establishing mitigation and reclamation requirements for individual projects. The Energy Office staff is dedicated to ensuring that America’s energy needs continue to be met while managing the area’s natural resources for present and future generations to use and enjoy.
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