TU is one of several groups working to protect the Thompson Divide in Colorado; at the heart of the matter is oil and gas leasing in this fragile area.
From TU’s mailing last week –
Give you and your children a great holiday gift this year, 220,000 acres of important watersheds with some of the best fishing in Colorado.
By sending your comments to the BLM supporting the agency’s recent draft decision to cancel 25 undeveloped oil and gas leases in the Thompson Divide area, you will help protect:
- 20,000 big game licenses.
- 220,000 acres of invaluable big game and wildlife habitat in game management units (GMUs) 42, 43 and 521.
- The pristine headwaters of the Roaring Fork, North Fork of the Gunnison and Crystal Rivers.
- 300 jobs and $30 million in annual economic output for the Roaring Fork Valley.
The Thompson Divide is a 220,000-acre backcountry area located outside of Carbondale that is renowned for some of the best trout streams and big game hunting in Colorado.
The Bureau of Land Management recently proposed to protect the Divide in a draft Environmental Impact Statement analyzing 65 oil and gas leases. The BLM’s proposed action would achieve the goals sportsmen advocated for during the NEPA process including forbidding surface disturbance within roadless areas or near streams containing native cutthroat trout, and protecting fish and wildlife habitat in the Crystal River and the Gold Medal stretch of the Roaring Fork River from adverse impacts of oil and gas development. Part of this balanced decision allows for the leases outside of the Thompson Divide to be developed.
Head on over to TU’s action center for the Thompson Divide and drop a comment; your help will be much appreciated.
One of the local groups spearheading protection for the divide is the Thompson Divide Coalition; their site is certainly worth a visit and the gas well map (impressive, isn’t it) is from their site.
