Colorado Wildlife Federation Park County is hosting a series of public meetings to introduce the public to the Bureau of Land Management’s master leasing planning purpose and process — and how the public can participate- that will begin in late September or early October. It will establish a guiding framework for any future oil and gas development on BLM lands, and resource protections. The plan will specify what areas are appropriate for such development and what areas are not appropriate. The first public meeting was held in Fairplay on September 15, the next will be held in Hartsel on September 22, and the final one in Shawnee on September 29.
We will provide a link to the BLM website page as soon as the “Notice of Intent” is posted by BLM, beginning the process. CWF also will provide regular updates and our analysis. We will urge the public to participate in this process to plan what we hope will be a balanced future for lands that BLM manages in South Park.
CWF had applied to BLM for master leasing planning in November of 2011. Our reason was that the BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Office covers a huge geographical area. If South Park were addressed within BLM’s next overall resource management planning process, South Park’s unique character would not be addressed in a focused manner. Now, with master leasing planning for South Park, there is a real opportunity to develop a landscape level, balanced future for the lands BLM manages there.