Title: Previously issued oil and gas leases in the White River National Forest
Description: This Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared to document and disclose the environmental impacts of reaffirming, modifying, or cancelling 65 previously issues federal fluid minerals leases underlying White River National Forest (WRNF) lands. These leases were issued between 1995 and 2012, and are located in Mesa, Garfield, Pitkin, and Rio Blanco counties. The Forest Service decision that made the 65 parcels considered in this EIS available for oil and gas leasing was documented through the 1993 WRNF Oil and Gas Leasing Record of Decision and reaffirmed in the 2002 White River National Forest Plan. In 2007, in a challenge brought against the issuance of three leases, the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) held that before including Forest Service parcels in an oil and gas lease sale the BLM must either formally adopt NEPA analysis completed by the Forest Service or conduct a NEPA analysis of its own (see Board of Commissioners of Pitkin County, 173 IBLA 173 [2007]). The 2007 IBLA decision addressed three leases in the WRNF that were later cancelled; however, the 65 existing leases addressed in this EIS share the same NEPA deficiency. With respect to the 65 leases at issue, the IBLA ruled that although the BLM was a cooperating agency on the 1993 WRNF Oil and Gas Leasing EIS, the BLM did not formally adopt the Forest Service NEPA analysis, and therefore did not comply with its NEPA obligations with respect to the issuance of those leases. Following the IBLA's decision, the BLM determined that the WRNF NEPA analysis conducted for the 65 previously issued leases is no longer adequate due to changes in laws, regulations, policies, and conditions since the earlier EIS was finalized in 1993.
Subjects: Oil and gas leases, Forest management, Environmental impact statements, Land use, Planning, Public lands, Management, Environmental aspects
Places: Colorado, White River National Forest, White River National Forest (Colo.)