BLM Energy Leasing Summary

The following lease sales contained acreage within the Greater Little Mountain area:

Dec. 2007: BLM offered 11 oil & gas parcels south of Rock Springs.

April 2008: BLM offered 2 parcels (2900 acres).

August. 2008: BLM offered 6 parcels (6,700 acres).

Dec. 2008: BLM offered 14 parcels (16,000 acres).

Feb. 2009: BLM offered 1 parcel (1785 acres).

June 2009: BLM offered 1 parcel (1753 acres).

August 2009: BLM offered 2 parcels (2239 acres).

Due to our coalition’s efforts a little less than half of these offered leases were temporarily deferred and not sold on the auction block.

Wildlife and Fish Facts

World class trophy elk and mule deer hunting.

Area 31 considered most desirable quality elk hunt & one of the hardest drawing odds area in Wyoming.

Deer Area 102 is recognized nationally as a top mule deer hunting spot in the West.

Pronghorn antelope hunting remains popular among local residents.

Aspen Mountain area provides superb elk, mule deer, and antelope hunting with a collective average hunter success rate of more than 90%

Colorado River cutthroat trout inhabit more than 130 stream miles of highly sensitive watersheds.

More than $10 million annually is spent on recreational sport fishing in Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Efforts to protect and preserve watershed degradation and big game habitat enhancements have helped increase big game and Colorado River cutthroat trout populations in the Greater Little Mountain Area.

Habitat Improvement Summary

More than $2 million spent on habitat improvement projects for Colorado River cutthroat trout, elk, mule deer, and sensitive watersheds.

Local citizens, organizations, the BLM and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department have actively worked on these projects.

BLM has spent more than $1.6 million toward wildlife habitat recovery; WGFD has spent more than $340,000.

More than 20 years of land and watershed enhancement projects have significantly improved big game hunting opportunities and cutthroat trout fishing opportunities in the Greater Little Mountain area.

Oil Shale

The 2008 Oil Shale and Tar Sands Final PEIS includes 95,367 acres available for development in the Greater Red Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern within the Greater Little Mountain Area.

Wind

Currently, the BLM has authorized 31,959 acres as Right of Way for wind development in the Greater Little Mountain Area. The majority of these acres are also leased for oil and gas development causing conflicting & overlapping land use while doubling the effects of industrialization on the landscape.

Oil and Gas

Over 169,000 acres of BLM land in the Little Mountain area have been leased for oil and gas development. Over the past 2 years proposals for 2 seismic surveys during hunting season and 3 applications to drill have been authorized.

  

 

 

 

 

 

For generations, the public land near Little Mountain has served as a hunting, fishing and recreational paradise for the state's sportsmen. Located 40 miles south of Rock Springs, the greater Little Mountain area supports thriving populations of elk, mule deer, antelope and is considered to be one of the best hunting destinations in the state. In addition the area has healthy sage grouse populations, and also includes a number of productive streams that shelter sensitive populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout. Multiple threats are encroaching upon this prized area. We seek  actions that support responsible energy development while protecting the most sensitive of these areas.

“Any energy development, whether limited or broad, in the Little Mountain area is going to stir up a perfect storm of wildlife, environmental, recreational and social issues,”   Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal 2009

 

 

 

 

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