The Department of the Interior revealed a pause for new mineral leasing in the Thompson Divide region in middle Colorado while science and public input is gathered.
The Thompson Divide region has not had oil and gas leasing activities for several years, and there is no present gas exploration or production taking place or planned for the near future, according to an Oct. 12 news release. The Bureau of Land Management and Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service petitioned the Department of the Interior to remove 224,794 acres in the Thompson Divide area from new mining claims or new federal mining leases for a two-year period. Water rights, activity on private land or valid existing rights to use the area are not affected.
“A coalition of hunters, ranchers, farmers, outdoor enthusiasts and community leaders have worked for decades to ensure the Thompson Divide area is protected," Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in the release. "Today the Biden-Harris administration is taking an important and sensible step to ensure that we have the science and public input necessary to make informed decisions about sustainable management of public lands in the Thompson Divide area.”
The Western Energy Alliance criticized this decision in an Oct.12 release. The organization worries programs under the Great American Outdoors Act are at risk.
“Designating more national monuments like Camp Hale adds to the list of protected lands that the federal government struggles to fund and maintain,” Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance, said in the release. “There is already a $22 billion backlog of conservation and infrastructure projects for protected lands, while costs continue to balloon because of government mismanagement. The bright spot is that GAOA provided secure funding for conservation derived almost exclusively from federal oil and natural gas production.
"On the other hand, Biden has been intent on eliminating federal oil and natural gas since day one of his presidency," Sgamma continued, according to the release. "It’s not clear the president is aware that oil and natural gas and conservation are directly linked. An attack on one is an attack on the other. Therefore, the president’s policies have created a double whammy that put the future of Camp Hale and other public lands at risk.”
An organization called Earth Justice is, by contrast, in favor of the decision, according to its own statement.
“The Biden administration is showing exactly the kind of courage this country needs by moving to protect over 200,000 acres in the Thompson Divide," Earth Justice Attorney Michael Freeman said in the statement. "The local community has worked tirelessly for over a decade to stave off oil and gas development and permanently protect wildlife, recreation and ranching in this region. This is a critical step toward ensuring these public lands do not succumb to the same destruction that so many of our other treasured places have.”
