Mineral withdrawal would provide interim protections for beloved area

January 19, 2023 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CARBONDALE, CO – Coloradans and supporters from across the U.S. are urging the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to move forward with a proposed 20-year administrative mineral withdrawal – which would ban future oil and gas leasing and mining –  of 225,000 acres of public lands in Western Colorado known as the Thompson Divide. This call comes after the BLM closed a 90-day public comment period earlier this week; administrative action to protect the Thompson Divide was announced by President Biden the same day he designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, the first new national monument of his Presidency.

During the BLM’s comment period, people across the country spoke up in support of protecting the Thompson Divide, with the agency receiving over 73,500 public comments in support of the withdrawal. The BLM also hosted a standing-room only public meeting in Carbondale on December 14, 2022; a recording of that meeting can be found here. Below are quotes from organizations and entities who have been supportive of protections for the Thompson Divide; all were included in materials submitted to BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack during the comment period.

“The Thompson Divide is a singular place. In the early 1900s, after a month-long hunting expedition into the area, President Theodore Roosevelt called it “a great, wild country.” Today the Divide maintains much of the same rugged character that Roosevelt saw over a century ago. Indeed, sporting groups have labeled it “one of the great American places.” Former Colorado Governor and now Senator, John Hickenlooper has described Thompson Divide as a Colorado “crown jewel.” Protecting the values and uses that define the character of Thompson Divide can only occur in one place.” – Peter Hart Wilderness Workshop Legal Director

“For over a decade and with broad-based support from local citizens, the Town of Carbondale and the City of Glenwood Springs have consistently supported conservation of public lands in the Thompson Divide. The Divide is a landscape that is critical to our local economy, home to valuable wildlife habitat and incredible recreational opportunities, and sustains some of the oldest ranching operations in the region. We continue that support today and urge you to implement the recently proposed administrative withdrawal of public lands and minerals within the Thompson Divide.” –  Joint comments from the City of Glenwood Springs and Town of Carbondale

The Thompson Divide is a spectacular landscape filled with awe-inspiring natural beauty and abundant wildlife. The Divide embodies the rural and wild character of Western Colorado, safeguarding over a dozen watersheds that provide clean water to domestic and agricultural users. It encompasses more than a dozen inventoried roadless areas – one of the densest concentrations in the region – but is threatened with potential oil and gas development and a lack of permanent protection.

“The Thompson Divide Withdrawal Area, including the lands surrounding Mount Emmons, contains outstanding and critically important wildlife habitat. Some of the wildest, undeveloped, mid-elevation terrain left in Colorado is within the withdrawal area, providing refuge to a diversity of species. The diversity of habitats within the withdrawal area – from wetlands and fens to aspen forests to alpine tundra – is its greatest strength. …protection of these public lands through the proposed administrative mineral withdrawal would ensure that their wildlife and ecosystems thrive into the future.” – High Country Conservation Advocates Public Lands Director Matt Reed

“Consensus for protecting the Thompson Divide cuts across party lines, and has united citizens and local governments of the Crystal River Valley to a remarkable extent. Rarely, if ever, do you see the entirety of a community from ranchers and downstream farmers that depend upon the runoff, to bikers and snowmobilers, to hunters, anglers and hikers unite and agree on protection and restrictions on public lands. Our community is unified to see this land preserved for its existing values, and a 20-year withdrawal would provide important interim protection for the landscape and the communities that rely on it.” – Pitkin County Assistant County Attorney Laura Makar

For over a decade, the local community – including local governments and municipalities, ranchers, small business owners, hunters and anglers, recreationists, and other community members – has been fighting for the Thompson Divide’s protection. It serves as a backbone for the local ranching community, and offers outstanding opportunities for hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing, and other activities.

“…increased extraction and use of fossil fuels accelerates climate change, an existential threat to cross country skiing at Spring Gulch. And it’s not a future, conceptual concern. Already winters start later and end earlier, resulting in a shorter ski season forcing the Nordic Council to initiate an expensive climate resiliency and adaptation plan. ….while a seeming drop in the global climate bucket, developing oil and gas in the Thompson Divide would only make our problem incrementally worse.” – Mount Sopris Nordic Council (located within the Thompson Divide)

“Since the earliest days of settlement in the North Fork Valley, and the agriculture that came with it, protecting the water source areas in the forests above the farms and orchards has been a key concern for residents. But the other qualities of this landscape were not lost on these practical-minded settlers and townspeople either. Tourism, stunning vistas and abundant wildlife have also long been an attraction of the area…For all these reasons, our organizations support the Thompson Divide Mineral Withdrawal which will benefit the businesses, residents, and farms of the North Fork Valley, and which will provide numerous conservation, wildlife, and climate benefits as well.” – Joint comments from Colorado Farm & Food Alliance, Western Slope Conservation Center, and the Valley Organic Growers Association.

“We wholeheartedly support a withdrawal of these lands from mineral leasing. We have witnessed the impacts that extensive oil and gas development had on agricultural operations and communities west of here. New leasing and development in the Thompson Divide would not only adversely affect our ranches and livelihoods and the agricultural heritage of this community but it would also negatively impact the entire communities’ well being. Protecting the Thompson Divide from oil and gas development will provide economic certainty for the continued operation of our ranches and also for the broader community.” – Bill Fales, President, North Thompson Cattle Association and Coal Basin Cattle Association (BLM and USFS grazing permittees in the Thompson Divide)

Legislation to safeguard the Thompson Divide was first introduced in 2013 by Senator Michael Bennet and was incorporated into the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act, which has been introduced in the past several congressional sessions and is supported by both Senator Bennet and Senator John Hickenlooper. The proposed 20-year mineral withdrawal would provide interim protections until Congress is able to pass the CORE Act. The next step in the proposed withdrawal will be USFS National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, including public comments and public meeting, which will likely occur in the spring of 2023.

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Wilderness Workshop is a nonprofit organization that protects the wilderness, water, and wildlife of Western Colorado’s public lands. Learn more at WildernessWorkshop.org

Page Header Image: Thompson Divide in the Fall. Photo courtesy Jon Mullen/Ecostock.