Biden administration bars drilling in Colorado’s Thompson Divide landscape

Thompson Divide mineral withdrawal approved by Dept. of the Interior

A massive swath of land in western Colorado will be closed to new oil and gas leasing and new mining for 20 years after the U.S. Department of the Interior approved a mineral withdrawal in the Thompson Divide and Mt. Emmons. About 221,898 acres of land will be protected from new activity, but valid, existing leases will not be affected by the decision.  The Thompson Divide covers mostly public land across multiple counties and municipalities, in…

Federal Government Bans New Drilling, Mining Operations in Colorado’s Thompson Divide

The federal government has announced it will bar new drilling and mining operations from the Thompson Divide along Colorado’s Western Slope, an area known for its environmental features like mountaintops, foothills, grazing lands, and wildlife. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement she has signed Public Land Order 7939, in which the Biden administration has withdrawn approximately 221,898 acres from mining, mineral, and …

Biden administration signs proclamation to protect Colorado's Thompson Divide

President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Wednesday establishing Colorado's Camp Hale, the Continental Divide National Monument, covering more than 221,000 acres for 20 years.

Biden administration bars drilling in Colorado’s Thompson Divide landscape

The Biden administration on Wednesday barred drilling and mining in a Colorado landscape known as the Thompson Divide, an area of mountaintops, foothills and valleys in the center of the state. The administration said that it would bar drilling and mining in 221,898 acres of the divide’s lands for 20 years, as part of an…

Colorado lawmakers applaud 20-year pause on Thompson Divide oil and gas drilling

Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday hailed the announcement by federal officials that 220,000 acres of national forest land on Colorado’s Western Slope will be protected from oil and gas development and mining for at least the next 20 years.

Feds bar new drilling, mining in Colorado’s Thompson Divide

The 20-year ban on new drilling will protect a pristine region that local advocates say is renowned for its wildlife and recreation.