Colorado Dems try to limit Roan Plateau drilling

DENVER, Colorado ” Sen. Ken Salazar and congressmen John Salazar and Mark Udall are introducing legislation intended to protect wildlife and environmentally sensitive areas on western Colorado’s Roan Plateau while still allowing energy development there.

The Colorado Democrats are proposing a measure similar to a plan that was recommended by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter but rejected by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The BLM has approved a management plan for the plateau that would open some of the federal land to natural gas drilling.

The Democrats’ proposal would declare about 39,000 acres on the Roan Plateau too environmentally sensitive to allow any disturbance of the surface. It would also require the BLM to offer leasing in phases rather than all at once.