2022-22448: Notice of Proposed Withdrawal and Public Meeting, Thompson Divide Area, Colorado

Summary

On behalf of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, the Secretary of the Interior proposes to withdraw approximately 224,793.73 acres, including approximately 200,518.28 acres of National Forest System lands, approximately 15,464.99 acres of BLM-managed public lands, and approximately 8,810.46 acres of reserved Federal mineral interest, from all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights. The boundary of the proposed withdrawal area also includes approximately 35,472.94 acres of non- Federal lands with no Federal interest, which would not be subject to the proposed withdrawal unless they are subsequently acquired by the Federal Government. The withdrawal is proposed for a period of 20 years to protect agricultural, ranching, wildlife, air quality, recreational, ecological, and scenic values in the Thompson Divide Area of Colorado. This notice segregates the land for 2 years from all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights, and initiates a 90-day public comment period on the proposed withdrawal.

The agency’s own summary, as published.