DENVER—The U.S. Forest Service blames an oversight for the inclusion of 13,000 acres of roadless forest land in an upcoming energy lease sale.
Charlie Richmond, supervisor for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests, says the agency will ask the Bureau of Land Management to remove the land from its February lease sale.
The BLM oversees management of minerals on all federal land. The Colorado office plans to offer oil and gas leases on about 133,000 acres in its Feb. 12 auction.
Environmentalists have raised questions about the roadless forest areas put up for lease. Matt Garrington of Environment Colorado says an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture makes certain areas off-limits to leasing until Colorado’s plan for managing 4.4 million acres of roadless national forest land is approved.
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Information from: Rocky Mountain News,
