The Southern Ute Indian Tribe wants federal officials to remove nine parcels within its reservation from a December oil and gas lease sale.
The parcels cover about 2,500 acres in La Plata and Archuleta counties. The tribe says leasing the land would undermine its sovereignty and threaten wildlife habitat, hunting areas, water resources and culturally significant areas it has kept undeveloped.
In December, the Bureau of Land Management plans to auction over 100 oil and gas lease parcels covering about 120,000 acres across Colorado. Nine of those parcels lie within the Southern Ute reservation.
In comments submitted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on September 11, the tribe said it is “adamantly opposed” to including the parcels on their reservation in the sale.
The dispute stems from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which requires BLM to hold at least four oil and gas lease sales each year in several states.
