BLM sells energy leases on 43,000 acres in Colorado

DENVER ” Federal managers have sold energy leases on nearly 43,000 acres of public land across Colorado but yanked six parcels in northwest Colorado because of concerns about wildlife.

The Bureau of Land Management’s quarterly lease auction oil and gas leases raised more than $652,000 Thursday. The state gets 49 percent of the revenue and the federal government the rest.

The highest per-acre price was $130 for a 14.7-acre lease in Dolores County that sold to Liberty Petroleum Corp.

BLM spokeswoman Vanessa Delgado says the agency will reevaluate the parcels in Rio Blanco County that were withdrawn from the sale. Environmentalists protested the leases because of potential impacts to wildlife.

The BLM will consider protests filed on other parcels before issuing the leases.