Drilling Colorado’s pristine lands
The Bureau of Land Management thankfully deferred plans to offer a massive swath of land for oil and gas drilling – with some parcels less than a mile from Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
This would have been a bad move for Colorado’s wildlife and economy.
While it’s good that these parcels have been deferred, there is no guarantee that the same parcels won’t be up on the auction block next year.
The rush to lease lands without carefully considering the impacts to our water and wildlife is troubling and the Bureau of Land Management needs to take a hard look before they attempt to lease again. The deferred parcels were identified as big-game migration corridors and winter range for species like pronghorn and elk. Other wildlife in the area include turkey and black bears.
In comments to the BLM, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said some of the land proposed for drilling includes elk production areas and important bighorn sheep range and asked that leases in bighorn sheep habitat be deferred.
At a time when visitors to Great Sand Dunes are hitting record highs, now is an especially bad time to be putting that economic engine at risk. The best course of action is that the BLM needs to withdraw lands at the doorstep of the Dunes from future leasing. It just doesn’t make sense.
To secure America’s energy future, we need to continue to invest in properly-sited clean energy, money-saving efficient technology, and next-generation electric vehicles.
Aaron Kindle
Salida
