DENVER—The U.S. Bureau of Land Management sold federal oil and gas leases on a total of 71,184 acres an auction in Denver Thursday.
The sale of 98 parcels raised $8.1 million, half of which will go to state coffers.
The BLM withdrew leases on 14,500 acres in Conejos County from the auction block. Agency officials said the decision to defer action on the leases will give BLM more time to meet with the public about the proposed sale.
Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., whose district includes the land, asked the BLM to delay offering the leases for sale. He said area residents didn’t have enough notice of the sale.
Salazar said he was also concerned about the effects of energy development on the area’s water and air quality and hunting and fishing.
Residents and groups filed 19 protests of the proposed leases.
The BLM won’t issue leases on parcels where sales were protested until the protest is decided.
People or companies nominate federal land to lease for oil and gas. The BLM manages about 8 million acres of public land and 27 million acres of subsurface minerals in Colorado.
