BLM RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

UNCOMPAHGRE FIELD OFFICE
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OUR PUBLIC LANDS!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) initiated scoping for an amendment to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO) in January 2024. The Uncompahgre RMP amendment will consider decisions on oil and gas leasing, areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs), and lands with wilderness characteristics.

The BLM issued the Uncompahgre Field Office Record of Decision and Approved RMP in April 2020. The Conservation Center, along with local partners and the public, had successfully lobbied to have the North Fork Alternative, a citizen alternative, included as an alternative in the draft RMP.

In Summer of 2022, the BLM agreed to amend the UFO RMP to further consider ACECs previously nominated through public scoping and analyzed under Alternative B of the 2019 Uncompahgre Field Office Proposed RMP/Final environmental impact statement (EIS).

In April 2024, the BLM released their Public Scoping Report on the UFO RMP amendment. Next, the BLM will release the UFO draft RMP amendment/EIS, anticipated to be available for public review in winter 2024/2025.

The BLM is required to complete and approve an EIS and RMP amendment by January 2026.

To learn all you need to know about the process, the North Fork Alternative, and everything in between, follow the links below.

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BLM UFO RMP Amendment Planning

All current planning documents.

The BLM is legally required to consider environmental alternatives and seek public comment.

UFO RMPa Planning

Background

How did we get here?

Beginning in 2010, the process of revising the BLM UFO RMP has been characterized by the North Fork Valley community response. This work is ongoing as BLM reconsiders local oil and gas decisions based on community input.

Background

2020 UFO RMP

The BLM finalized the UFO RMP in 2020. The RMP has major negative implications for the North Fork Valley Watershed and the BLM is undergoing a process to to amend the RMP.

Issues with the 2020 RMP and why it’s being amended.

2020 RMP

The North Fork Alternative

The North Fork Alternative Plan (NFAP) was first considered in 2016 when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO). The BLM considered the community-derived plan as the best for resource protection and limited development in the Lower Gunnison Watershed.

North Fork Alternative Plan
  • Lands open to oil and gas in BLM's Preferred Alternative
  • Other

In 2019, the BLM’s preferred plan would keep ninety five percent (95%) of the Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO) open to oil and gas development.

The US Forest Service manages land in the upper watershed as part of the Grand Mesa Uncompahgre Gunnison National Forest (GMUG). The BLM manages much of the lower watershed as part of the Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO). The BLM also manages the federal mineral estate beneath much of the GMUG National Forest.

Time To Choose

Conservation Lands Foundation

In nine places across the American West and Alaska, including the North Fork Valley, iconic and irreplaceable lands are being handed over to mining and development.

These public lands ARE NOT ESSENTIAL FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION — but they ARE essential for the economies of hundreds of local communities, vital wildlife habitats, Indigenous culture, and beloved recreation areas used by millions of Americans.

Time To Choose

Too Wild To Drill

The Wilderness Society

What if we destroyed some of the best wild places in America for short-lived commercial gains?

Right now, our last remaining wild places are under tremendous threat from pressures for oil, gas and mineral extraction on public lands. Americans depend on these unique wild lands for their way of life. Energy companies already have more leases than they can use — of the 27 million acres currently under lease to oil and gas companies, more than half are sitting idle. Likewise, the coal industry already has 20 years of reserves under lease.

Help us protect the North Fork Valley, and the other Too Wild To Drill landscapes

Too Wild To Drill

Governor's Consistency Review

Gov. Polis Weighs In On The RMP

In June 2019, Governor Polis was given a 60 day window to note inconsistencies between the proposed RMP and related state plans. Read what he said below.

Governor's Consistency Review

Resources

Any and all resources you might need pertaining to the BLM’s Uncompahgre Field Office Resource Management Plan

Resources

“We have worked with partners in 25 communities to develop the range of alternatives in this draft plan, including a community vision for the North Fork Valley,” said Dana Wilson, former Southwest Associate District Manager. “These are some of the public’s most spectacular landscapes, from canyon country to the foothills of the West Elk Mountains and Grand Mesa, providing recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, forage for grazing and energy resources.”

Let’s hold the BLM accountable to protecting all of these spectacular resources here on the Western Slope!

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