Colorado: More wrangling over the Roan Plateau, as the BLM takes comments for another environmental impact statement

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A view of the Roan Plateau from a NASA satellite.

BLM starts new environmental study for drilling leases in sensitive wildlife area

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — With comments coming in on a revised BLM study for fossil fuel development on Colorado’s Roan Plateau, it’s clear that there’s little common ground between the energy industry and conservation groups.

Hunters, anglers and environmentalists want the federal agency to set strict protections for natural resources, while oil and gas companies say the government needs to get on with opening the area for drilling as required under federal law.

A federal court last year ruled that the 2008 drilling plan didn’t consider conservation-oriented options, and that it didn’t adequately analyze the cumulative air quality impacts of oil and gas drilling. The BLM has acknowledged that developing up to 1,500 wells on the Roan Plateau would permanently alter some areas of high quality fish and wildlife habitat.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel stakeholders, represented by the West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association also submitted comments, explaining that federal law requires the Roan Plateau to be leased and calling on the BLM to make only the specific supplemental analysis required by the court. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling, politics | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Audit shows gaps in USFS oil and gas leasing programs

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Draft oil and gas leasing map on the White River National Forest.

Report questions agency’s readiness for potential spills

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — The U.S. Forest Service needs to tighten up its oil and gas leasing program, including procedures for reporting spills and monitoring cleanups, according to a new report from the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General.

Along with illustrating weaknesses in the Forest Service’s oversight of oil and gas drilling on national forest lands, the report also noted that the agency needs to work more closely with the Bureau of Land Management to streamline the permitting process on national forest lands. (more…)

Filed under: BLM, energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling, public lands, US Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Colorado: Breckenridge Ski Area wants to develop new summer recreation facilities on national forest lands

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Resort submits plan to U.S. Forest Service

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A summer view toward Breckenridge from the flanks of the Tenmile Range near Peak 6.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Breckenridge Ski Area is preparing to create an outdoor-themed summer amusement park on the public lands it leases from the U.S. Forest Service. The resort wants to add  14 miles of beginner, intermediate and family oriented mountain biking trails across peaks 7 and 8, as well as adventure hiking zones, zip lines and ropes courses.

Vail Resorts submitted a formal proposal to the U.S. Forest Service this week. Following acceptance of the proposal, the agency will begin an comprehensive environmental review to analyze and disclose site-specific environmental impacts. If the U.S. Forest Service approves a plan, Vail Resorts would begin construction on Epic Discovery activities in the summer of 2015.

In a press release, the company touted the environmental and educational components of the planned new activities. According to the release, the company will partner with The Nature Conservancy and will donate 1 percent of all summer lift ticket and activity revenue toward forest restoration projects. (more…)

Filed under: business, Colorado, Environment, public lands, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news, US Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: Sen. Udall floats Browns Canyon National Monument bill

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Existing uses would continue in popular boating and fishing area

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By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — After a year-long grassroots process, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) says the proposed 22,000-acre Browns Canyon National Monument is ready for prime time.

Udall, who chairs the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee, this week introduced a draft bill that would also create 10,500 acres of wilderness within the monument and protect the most-used rafting destination in the country.

“I am proposing a new national monument for Browns Canyon so that future generations of Coloradans can enjoy the unique mix of exciting whitewater and wilderness so close to Colorado’s Front Range,” Udall said in a statement. (more…)

Filed under: BLM, Colorado, Environment, national parks, public lands, rivers | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

President Obama to designate new national monuments

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

GOP goes ballistic over use of Antiquities Act

Rio Grande with Ute Mountain © Adriel Heisey.

Rio Grande with Ute Mountain © Adriel Heisey.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — In the midst of ongoing partisan battles over the budget and public land policy gridlock, President Barack Obama this week plans to designate five new national monuments, including a big swath of land around the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico.

Conservation advocates welcomed the news, especially after a congressional session that yielded very little in the way of land conservation — the first Congress not to create any new wilderness in half a century. (more…)

Filed under: BLM, national parks, public lands | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Colorado: Sen. Bennet introduces measure to resolve wrangling over oil and gas leases in the Thompson Divide

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
This map shows the overlap of roadless areas and oil and gas leases in Western Colorado's Thompson Divide area.

This map shows the overlap of roadless areas and oil and gas leases in Western Colorado’s Thompson Divide area.

Withdrawal would protect some areas while honoring existing leases and create a path for buying back leases

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) says there’s overwhelming local support for his bill to resolve management of the 221,000-acre Thompson Divide, where conservation groups have long sought protection from potential oil and gas development.

According to Bennet, his bill would protects the land and  local economies tied to it from future energy development, while also acknowledging and respecting the rights of current leaseholders.

“This bill to manage the pristine Thompson Divide area reflects the voices of stakeholders and Coloradans in the surrounding communities who live, work, and recreate in the area and rely on it for their livelihoods,” Bennet said in a statement. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Court upholds ban on uranium mining near Grand Canyon

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Conservation groups hail partial victory; more legal arguments on tap

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Th North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Photo courtesy National Park Service.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — A federal judge this week partly rebuffed the mining industry’s attempt to pursue speculative uranium claims in the Grand Canyon region, saying that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar acted within his authority when he ordered a temporary mining ban across more than 1 million acres.

The ban was adopted January 2012 to protect the Grand Canyon’s watersheds. The withdrawal prohibits new mining claims and development on old claims that lack “valid existing rights” to mine.

The National Mining Association, Nuclear Energy Institute, Northwest Mining Association and others last year filed four lawsuits challenging the withdrawal and the underlying federal authority to enact any withdrawals larger than 5,000 acres. The Havasupai tribe and conservation groups intervened to uphold both. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, national parks, public lands | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Op-ed: GOP misleads Americans on energy and public lands

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Paul Ryan makes blatantly false claims about energy development

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The proposed GOP budget includes plans to sell off public lands in the West. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — After licking his wounds for a few months, former Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is picking up right where he left off, by misleading Americans about the Obama administration’s energy and public lands policies.

Most blatantly, Ryan this week wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the Obama administration is “buying up land to prevent further development” of energy resources. “Our budget opens these lands to development, so families will have affordable energy,” he added, playing to the lowest common denominator of his conservative base as if he were still campaigning for office.

Ryan’s simplistic and false statement about the connection between public lands and energy costs is flat-out wrong. Domestic energy production has grown under Obama; the administration has been leasing land for onshore production and selling offshore leases at a vigorous rate. (more…)

Filed under: energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling, oil shale, public lands, renewable energy | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Colorado: BLM seeks comments on outfitter permits

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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The Blm’s Kremmling field office manages public lands in Grand, Summit and Eagle counties.

Outfitter operations to be evaluated in permitting process

By Summit Voice

The Bureau of Land Management’s Kremmling Field Office is seeking public comment on 29 commercial special recreation permit applications for outfitters offering rafting, fishing, jeep tours and other activities on public lands.

Each year, the BLM issues permits to provide recreation businesses the opportunity to operate on BLM lands and provide specific services to the public while  ensuring a fair return to the public for commercial use of public lands.

To help with its evaluation of these permit applications, the BLM is seeking public comment regarding each applicant’s safety history, conflicts that have been associated with the applicants or their employees while operating on public lands, or any other information that would be useful to the agency as it considers the applications. (more…)

Filed under: BLM, Colorado, public lands | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Does renewable energy permitting need streamlining?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

House bill could put renewable energy on equal footing with fossil fuels

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Will Congress consider a renewable energy development bill this session? Photo courtesy BLM.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — On the heels of a do-nothing obstructionist Congress, it’s hard to say whether any public lands bills will get a fair committee hearing during the current session, but that hasn’t stopped U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) from taking a shot a promoting renewable energy on BLM lands.

Along with nine co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, Polis is promoting renewable energy development act that would streamline the process for leasing public lands for solar and other renewable energy projects. (more…)

Filed under: energy, Environment, renewable energy | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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