Wyoming Range Oil/Gas leases offered in BLM sale
Horse Ck-Beaver Ck areas on Bridger-Teton Nation Forest lands to be auctioned off April 4
March 23, 2006
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold the next Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale on Tuesday, April 4th in Cheyenne. The sale involves land in the states of Wyoming and Nebraska, including parcels in Sublette County. The sale includes significant acreages in the Wyoming Range of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in the Horse Creek and Beaver Ridge areas. Leases are for a primary term of ten years, and continue as long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities.
Proposed development in the Wyoming Range has been controversial because they involve National Forest lands that are highly valued for recreation, scenic and wildlife values.
The BLM and Bridger-Teton National Forest faced significant local opposition recently to proposed development on lands in the Noble Basin of the Upper Hoback River area when Plains Exploration notified the Forest of their intent to drill exploratory wells on a lease that was let approximately ten years ago. Because the lease had already been sold, no protests were allowed which could stop development of that lease.
The parcels being offered on the April 4th sale are new lease offerings for oil and gas development.
The parcels being put up for lease in Sublette County involve almost the entire Township and Range of T35N/R114W and portions of T34N/R114W. These townships include Horse Creek, Beaver Ridge, South Beaver, Dry Beaver, Strawberry Ridge area, Upper Hoback, Grizzly Creek and Cascade Creek. Also included in the sale are parcels in the Little Colorado Desert southeast of Big Piney and northeast of LaBarge, and a parcel near North Piney and Spring Creeks approximately 14 miles northwest of Big Piney.
The bulk of the acreage in Sublette County being put up for lease auction on April 4th is on Bridger-Teton National Forest managed land on the Big Piney Ranger District in the northern Wyoming Range.
Parcel Areas:
Horse Creek Area west of Sherman Guard Station (1929 acres)
T34N/R114W, Sections 1, 2, 3
South Beaver/Buck Creek/Dry Beaver/Lead Creek (19,000+ acres)
T35N/R114W,
Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36
Lead Creek/Beaver Ridge (209 acres)
T35N/R113W, Section 31
North of LaBarge/Little Colorado Desert (320 acres)
T27N/R111W, Section 22
Southeast of Big Piney/Little Colorado Desert (480 acres)
T28N/R110W, Sections 27, 28
T28N/R 112W, Section 34
Northwest of Big Piney near North Piney Creek and Spring Creek (40 acres)
T31N/R114W, Section 25
For a complete list of parcels being made available for lease, see the Notice of Competitive Oil and Gas Sale (1211K PDF)
Below is the BLM'fs policy on protesting oil and gas lease offerings.
May I protest BLM's decision to offer the lands in this Notice for lease?
Yes, under regulation 43 CFR 3120.1-3, you may protest the inclusion of a parcel listed in this sale notice. All protests must meet the following requirements:
* We must receive a protest no later than close of business on the 15th calendar day prior to the date of the sale. If our office is not open on the 15th day prior to the date of the sale, a protest received on the next day our office is open to the public will be considered timely filed. The protest must also include any statement of reasons to support the protest. We will dismiss a late-filed protest or a protest filed without a statement of reasons.
* A protest must state the interest of the protesting party in the matter.
* You may file a protest either by mail in hardcopy form or by telefax. You may not file a protest by electronic mail. A protest filed by fax must be sent to 307-775-6203. A protest sent to a fax number other than the fax number identified or a protest filed by electronic mail will be dismissed.
* If the party signing the protest is doing so on behalf of an association, partnership or corporation, the signing party must reveal the relationship between them. For example, unless an environmental group authorizes an individual member of its group to act for it, the individual cannot make a protest in the group's name.
Related Links:
Federal Oil and Gas Sale Scheduled for April 4, 2006 (March 22, 2006 BLM Press Release)
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