Four parcels totaling 6,137 acres in the HD Mountains southeast of Bayfield are proposed to be leased for oil and gas development.

The lease sale by the Bureau of Land Management is scheduled for May 12 in Lakewood. The proposal is up for public comment and protest until 4 p.m. March 14.

The largest of the parcels designated for lease has four sections at the head of the Spring Creek drainage. Just to the north of that is a parcel covering three sections, and another with two sections. The smallest parcel is about a half section at the head of Armstrong Canyon.

Oil and gas leasing in the HDs was authorized over local opposition in an Environmental Impact Statement conducted in the early 2000s. Much of the covered area is roadless. It also provides winter range for deer and elk.

Opponents cited the maze of access roads and pipeline cuts that could accompany gas development, especially along the spine of the HDs, known as the Pine-Piedra Stock Driveway.

The parcels proposed for lease are about a mile west of the driveway, according to San Juan National Forest geologist Walt Brown.

San Juan National Forest officials have worked on an Oil and Gas Leasing Availability Analysis since 2001, according to the BLM notice of the pending lease sales. It was completed in 2013, and the last three years have been spent on implementation. During that time, about 200 lease proposals have been on hold. Brown told the Pine River Times those are scattered around the San Juan National Forest.

The first proposed leases “will focus on federal minerals with high potential for oil and gas development that are adjacent to previously leased and developed minerals,” according to the information Brown provided.

He stressed that the HD leases have a lot more surface protections than previous leases have had, including stipulations of no surface occupancy.

Lease area in HD Mountains (PDF)

On the Net

To comment: Send to Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield St., Lakewood CO 80215.

Maps and associated environmental analyses: http://on.doi.gov/1Q2vj92.