The Bureau of Land Management's Little Snake Field Office is in the process of revising the Little Snake Resource Management Plan (RMP). An RMP is a document that determines decisions concerning the use and management of lands administered by the BLM. Because RMPs are revised only every 15-20 years, ensuring that they set the direction for good decision making is essential.

The Little Snake Resource Area lies mostly within Moffat and Routt counties in Northwestern Colorado. The area encompasses approximately 1.3 million acres of public lands, which includes critical big game habitat and migration corridors, some of the most outstanding sage-grouse habitat in Colorado, and 275,000 acres of citizen-proposed wilderness, including Vermillion basin.

Proposed Development

In its draft RMP for Little Snake, the BLM's preferred alternative proposes opening 93% of the area to oil and gas drilling. Over this area, 3,300 new wells and their associated infrastructure would be developed. Even Vermillion basin, which is a citizen-proposed wilderness area, would not be protected.

Effects on Hunters, Anglers, and the Greater Community

Historically, northwestern Colorado, including the Little Snake area, has been a favorite among hunters. According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) the broader region has more than 56,560 elk, 149,550 deer and 20,850 pronghorn (CDOW 2007), providing ample opportunities for both experienced and amateur hunters alike. Drilling in nearby Sublette county in Wyoming has proved disastrous on big game populations. In a recent study conducted on the Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming, mule deer populations declined by 46% in the first four years of oil and gas development (Sawyer 2006). Similarly, pronghorn in the area were shown to neglect and even abandon habitat patches within 600 acres of oil and gas wells (Berger 2006).

Both hunting and fishing are also a large part of the economy of Northwestern Colorado. In 2002, hunting and fishing alone generated more than $67 million in Moffat and Routt counties (CDOW). According to one sportsmen, "When you start getting all these oil and gas wells on public land, you lose the people coming here. Will you pay me $2,500 to $3,500 to take you on a hunt when over here's a gas well and over there's a rig?" (Kenworthy 2004 as cited in EWG's report 'Rigged Game').

The public comment period on the draft RMP ended May 16th. In the 90-days citizens had to review the plan, the BLM received more than 70,000 comments urging them to protect the Little Snake area! The next step in BLM's planning process will be to read through and respond to these comments and use them as guidance in their preparation of the final RMP. Please check back in the coming weeks to see ways you can help preserve the Little Snake.

• Read the entire Resource Management Plan for Little Snake.
• Map of the Little Snake Resource Area.
• Diagram of how the BLM planning process works click here.