US seeks ban on new drilling in central Colorado

President Joe Biden's administration is pursuing a two-decade ban on new oil and gas leasing on 225,000 acres (911km2) of federal land in a mountainous region in central Colorado.

The administration today started the process to withdraw the Thompson Divide area from new federal oil and gas leasing, mining and geothermal development for 20 years. Biden separately created a 54,000-acre national monument near Camp Hale, the site of a World War II military training facility that is also close to ski areas.

The White House said the decisions were part of steps to protect "America's most cherished lands and waters." US interior secretary Deb Haaland said the plan to withdraw the Thompson Divide area came after ranchers, farmers and outdoor groups spent decades seeking to protect the area from industrial development.

Oil and gas groups said the withdrawal was misguided and would restrict drilling on part of the Mancos shale, a large potential source of natural gas reserves in the US. Industry officials say they have safely drilled in the Thompson Divide since the 1940s while protecting the land.

"There is no need to lock away public lands and minerals, especially at a time of high energy prices," Western Energy Alliance president Kathleen Sgamma said.

The proposed withdrawal will not affect existing natural gas leases in the region, which the White House says account for less than 1pc of the 3,000 active federal leases in Colorado. It will also not affect US natural gas utility Black Hills Energy's Wolf Creek gas storage area that serves the Roaring Fork Valley in western Colorado.

By Chris Knight