The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday it has finalized a proposal that would revamp land use plans covering millions of acres in Colorado to place new restrictions that balance oil and gas development with protecting key habitat corridors for big game species.
The approach BLM announced in a multivolume final environmental impact statement would amend 13 resource management plans across the state, adding new restrictions on oil and gas leasing across much of the 8.3 million acres of BLM surface lands and 4.7 million acres of subsurface federal mineral split estate.
The goal of the proposal, which is related to a 2022 legal settlement between the bureau and the state of Colorado, is to better balance energy development with protection of important migration corridors and habitat for elk, mule deer, pronghorn and bighorn sheep.
BLM has said it wants to complete a record of decision approving the plan and RMP amendments by November.