DENVER—The U.S. Forest Service has withdrawn nearly 67,000 acres of National Forest land from a Thursday auction of oil and gas leases in southwestern Colorado.
The Forest Service pulled the land Monday after two county governments and the Colorado Division of Wildlife complained that drilling there could hurt natural resources in the area.
Regional Forester Rick Cables said the Forest service will review the complaints before deciding whether to do a more detailed study or to place additional restrictions if the land is offered at a future auction.
The land is in 57 parcels in the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison National Forest.
The Bureau of Land Management, which will oversee the sale, will be on the alert for anyone who makes phony bids, agency spokesman Jim Sample told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
An environmental activist made $1.8 million in bids in a government oil and gas lease auction in Utah in December. The activist, Tim DeChristopher, was protesting the auction and has said he had no intention of paying.
