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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

BLM plans for more drilling on Western Slope

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management released environmental information this week about potential oil and gas development in northwest Colorado.

The BLM plans to offer 106 parcels totaling over 100,000 acres in a May 2017 lease sale, but first, the public has a chance to comment on the environmental assessment.

 
Most of the leases are in areas on the Western Slope that have already seen significant oil and gas development. The BLM plans to protect just over 200 acres that have been identified as important habitat for mating sage grouse.

 
The environmental assessment comes during a transitional time. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel announced Thursday that the BLM has finalized a rule that will support more renewable energy development, like solar and wind, on public lands. Meanwhile, oil and gas leases on public lands are being sold online, and industry officials say they anticipate a warmer political climate for energy development.

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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