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For Immediate Release Friday, May 2, 2008 |
CONTACTS:
Stephanie Valencia 202-228-3630 |
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Salazar Brothers Urge BLM to Listen to Locals, Defer Oil & Gas Lease Sales in Saguache and Rio Grande Counties DENVER, CO – Today, in a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado State Director Sally Wisely, United States Senator Ken Salazar and Congressman John Salazar urged the BLM to grant the requests of Rio Grande and Saguache Counties and the Towns of Del Norte and Crestone to defer all parcels offered in those counties in the May 8 lease sale on grounds particular to their communities. The full text of the letter follows: May 2, 2008 Sally Wisely Re.: Saguache and Rio Grande County parcels in May 8 lease sale Dear Ms. Wisely: We have been contacted by Rio Grande and Saguache County Boards of Commissioners, as well as the Towns of Del Norte and Crestone regarding their concerns with parcels offered by the Bureau of Land Management for oil and gas exploration in the May 8 lease sale. Each entity requests a deferral of parcels on grounds particular to their communities, and we ask you to grant their requests. We understand this lease sale encompasses 175,430 acres of which nearly 145,000 are in Rio Grande and Saguache Counties. We also understand this may be one of the largest lease sales offered where there is no oil and gas exploration currently underway. While these parcels were inventoried for their oil and gas potential in the Rio Grande National Forest Management Plan and the Resource Management Plan of the San Luis Valley Public Lands Center, neither Rio Grande nor Saguache Counties have zoning regulations current for oil and gas exploration at the scale proposed. Rio Grande County specifically asks for a deferral to ensure their county zoning code is compatible with the proposed Colorado Oil and Gas Regulations which are currently open for comment. Saguache County, while currently updating their oil and gas regulations, expresses particular concern about negative impacts of oil and gas exploration on air and water quality, as well as big game habitat and the county’s overall ecosystem. Finally, both Del Norte and Crestone are concerned about potential negative impacts to their municipal watersheds, which are surrounded by parcels nominated for lease. We strongly urge you to grant the requests of Rio Grande and Saguache Counties and the Towns of Del Norte and Crestone to defer all parcels offered in those counties in the May 8 lease sale. Thank for your consideration. Please keep our Alamosa offices informed of any developments related to this matter. Sincerely,
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