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KREMMLING, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management today released a Proposed Resource Management Plan that balances potential resource uses with protecting wildlife habitat and other sensitive resources within lands managed by the Kremmling Field Office.

The Proposed Kremmling Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement covers the 377,900 surface acres and 653,500 acres of subsurface mineral estate in Grand, Jackson, Routt, Summit, Larimer and Eagle counties. 

“Our Proposed Resource Management Plan for the Kremmling Field Office is based largely on the comments we received from the public and our State and local cooperating agencies when we put our Draft Plan out for comment in 2011,” said Kremmling Field Manager Stephanie Odell.  “We believe the Proposed Plan provides a balanced approach to managing the public’s land and resources within the Kremmling Field Office for the next two decades.”

The BLM released the Draft RMP/EIS for public comment for a total of 124 days and held public meetings in Granby, Kremmling and Walden. The BLM received about 2,000 submissions during the public comment period. Detailed responses to all substantive comments are included in the Final EIS. 

The Proposed Plan protects more than 100,000 acres of core habitat for mule deer, elk, Greater Sage-Grouse and other wildlife by prohibiting ground disturbance.  It designates eight Areas of Critical Environmental Concern totaling 9,668 acres to protect rare plants, paleontological and cultural resources, and fish and wildlife habitat.

The Proposed RMP includes the North Park Master Leasing Plan, which covers a total of 390,600 acres of federal minerals in North Park. About 159,600 acres are already leased within this MLP area. The BLM developed this MLP to facilitate the responsible exploration and development of oil and gas resources in North Park while ensuring protection of the area’s resources and resource uses, including air and water quality, wildlife habitat and recreation.  More than 184,000 acres of the 376,600 acres open to oil and gas leasing within the North Park MLP area are covered by no surface occupancy stipulations, and 321,200 acres are covered by timing limitations that protect sensitive resources at sensitive times.

The Proposed Plan also includes an extensive travel management plan that provides 1,637 miles of roads and trails, along with two designated off-highway vehicle open “play areas.”  The Proposed Plan will also adopt the alternative proposed by the Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholders Group for management of river-related values in the Colorado River corridor from Gore Canyon to Glenwood Canyon.  The Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholders Group represents the interests of Eastern and Western slope water users, local governments, conservation groups, recreational users and private land owners.  Under the Proposed Plan, 357,550 acres are open to recreational target shooting in the field office.  The Proposed Plan prohibits recreational target shooting on 20,350 acres to protect public safety at developed recreation sites and other high-use areas.  Hunting would continue to be allowed throughout the entire field office in accordance with Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations.

The release of the Proposed Plan begins the 30-day public protest period, which ends April 21, 2014, and a 60-day Governor’s consistency review.  A final decision is expected in late 2014.

For additional information including how to submit protests or obtain a copy of the Proposed Plan, visit http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/land_use_planning/rmp/kfo-gsfo.html.