I am disappointed that the Montezuma County commissioners, after openly endorsing the American Lands Council and the idea that local governments can manage our lands better than federal offices, are not willing to participate in the master leasing plan being formulated by the BLM. Their assertion that they were not included in the initial decision-making aside, I think their/our participation is crucial for everyone in this county. In their letter to Ruth Welch at the BLM, commissioners assert that the BLM did a good job with its resource management plan without reference to the fact that the local community found it extremely problematic in that it allowed for oil and gas development on 90 percent of public lands around Mesa Verde and near our homes, without adequate protections for our air, water, or recreation.
They write that between the RMP and the application for permit to drill process, all concerns are being addressed – yet even the language of these lease stipulations has no teeth. Southwest Colorado’s natural environment and public lands are a crucial driver of our local tourism economy, outdoor recreation industry, and way of life. An MLP will determine the criteria industry must meet in regards to air and water quality as well as light, noise, traffic, roads, view sheds, and night skies. These are issues that are not currently being sufficiently addressed and in which citizens of our county want to have a voice.
Fiona King
Cortez
