ASPEN, Colo.—Pitkin County commissioners are endorsing a more conservative approach than what the federal government proposes for oil shale research on public land.
Former President George W. Bush’s administration had made about 2 million acres in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah available for companies to lease for oil shale research and development. Under a new proposal from the Bureau of Land Management, less than 500,000 acres would be available, including about 35,000 acres in Colorado.
Commissioners in Mesa and Garfield counties have said the bureau is bending to environmentalists who oppose oil shale development.
But Pitkin County commissioners are supporting restraint. The Aspen Times reports ( ) Pitkin County commissioners agreed this week to back an option limiting leasing even more, to just 26,880 acres in Colorado.
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Information from: The Aspen Times,
