A proposed Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sale in March could open the door to drilling hundreds of wells in western Colorado.

The agency is proposing offering 103 oil and gas parcels covering 72,848 acres in Colorado in the sale. This includes nearly 25,900 acres in Garfield County, more than 6,400 acres in Mesa County and another 7,321 acres in Rio Blanco County.

The BLM previously held a scoping period to consider public input on the proposal ahead of its recent release of a draft environmental assessment on it. Following that release it has opened a public comment period that ends Dec. 12.

The BLM plans to offer nearly 51,000 acres in northwest Colorado in a lease sale Dec. 9. Most of that acreage is in far-northwest Colorado. But the sale also will include 722 acres ou

See Full Page