Northwest Colorado parcels scheduled for upcoming oil and gas lease sales
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DENVER – The Bureau of Land Management Colorado is offering four parcels in northwestern Colorado in its August oil and gas lease sale, and reviewing a proposal to offer nine more in its February 2014 lease sale.
Three parcels in the August lease sale cover 2,125 acres in Moffat County. The BLM will also offer one Forest Service parcel for 381 acres in Garfield County. Maps of these parcels are posted online: www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/oilandgas/oil_and_gas_lease/2013/august_2013_lease_sale.html
The deadline for submitting protests is 4 p.m., June 10, 2013. All protests must be received by the BLM Colorado State Office, located at 2850 Youngfield St., Lakewood, CO 80215. The lease sale is scheduled for 9 a.m., Aug. 8, 2013, at the Colorado State Office.
A two-week public scoping period begins on May 13, 2013 for a proposal to include nine parcels totaling 7,435 acres in Moffat County north of Craig, Colo., in BLM’s Feb. 13, 2014 lease sale.
The scoping period affords the public an opportunity to help identify issues and concerns to be addressed in the leasing environmental assessment, which will be available for a 30-day public comment period Aug. 2, 2013.
These parcels are identified as available to oil and gas leasing under the current resource management plan for the Little Snake Field Office. The RMP identifies what restrictions, or stipulations, are included with the leases.
Nineteen additional parcels were nominated totaling 16,941 acres in priority Greater Sage-grouse habitat in Moffat County, but will not be offered in the February 2014 lease sale. Of the 7,435 acres being considered, 2,078 are BLM-managed surface and 5,357 are private lands with federal minerals.
Comments specific to the proposed parcels and associated stipulations will be the most helpful and effective. A map of the parcels being considered and a description of the stipulations are available May 13, 2013 at: www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/oilandgas/oil_and_gas_lease/2014/february_2014_lease_sale.html.
Comments on the parcels being considered for the February 2014 lease sale need to be received by May 28, 2013 and may be submitted via e-mail to lsfoweb@blm.gov or by mail to Little Snake Field Office, 455 Emerson St., Craig, CO 81625.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Additional lease sale information can be obtained online at: www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/oilandgas/oil_and_gas_lease.html. Information is also available at one of the bureau’s field offices and the BLM Colorado State Office Public Room, 2850 Youngfield St., Lakewood, CO.
The State of Colorado will receive 49 percent of the proceeds from the sale, with the remainder going to the U.S. government. The State of Colorado received more than $158 million in Fiscal Year 2012 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for all federal minerals, including oil and gas. BLM Colorado currently has approximately 4.2 million acres of public mineral estate leased for oil and natural gas development, generating more than $6.5 billion in direct economic benefits in 2011 and approximately $9.5 billion in total economic impacts.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.