BLM Advances Land-Use Plans in Colorado and California, Restricting Oil and Gas Development to Combat Climate Change.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has advanced land-use plan updates in Colorado and California that would restrict oil and gas development and recreational uses across nearly 2 million acres to address climate warming. The final environmental impact statement outlines management revisions on 1.6 million acres of BLM lands in the Colorado River Valley and Grand Junction field offices in western Colorado, including closing more than 1 million acres in future oil and natural gas leasing. The bureau also released a final EIS analyzing updates to the Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan, which covers 382,200 acres along the state’s northern coast. The EIS highlights future sea-level rise caused by a warming climate as justification for establishing 26 new “areas of critical environmental concern” or ACECs, covering 87,890 acres.