2. Take Action

speak up on proposed
oil & gas Development

Step 1. learn How the leasing process works

Across the West, more than 200 million acres of public lands are available for oil and gas companies to drill — including over 11.5 million acres in Colorado. In 2025, Congress passed the so-called  “Big Beautiful Bill,” a major giveaway to oil and gas that forces the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to hold lease sales on all of these acres four times a year.

That’s four chances a year for corporations to make a claim to Colorado’s public lands. It’s also four chances for Coloradans to speak up. 

At key steps in the leasing process, the public has a real opportunity to push back against inappropriate drilling. Here’s how it works. 

  1. Scoping: The BLM reviews parcels nominated by oil and gas companies. Under the “Big Beautiful Bill,” at least 50% of nominated acres must be offered, even when the agency finds that drilling doesn’t make sense.  During this stage, you can comment on the preliminary list of parcels and flag concerns about particular places.

  2. Environmental Review: Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLM releases a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental impacts of proposed lease sale. You can submit a comment on the draft EA to help shape the final analysis. 

  3. Protest Period: If you commented during the scoping or environmental review periods, you can comment again during the protest period, a 30-day window when the BLM publishes its final leasing recommendations. To be considered, you must cite specific concerns about specific parcels. 

Ready to get writing? Here’s more on how to craft an impactful public comment.

Step 2. Review Public Lands Proposed for Leasing

Dig into Rocky Mountain Wild’s map of parcels currently under consideration for oil and gas development.

Step 3. Use your voice!

Ready to get weigh in? Review Rocky Mountain Wild’s summary to see if there’s an open public comment period. If helpful, here’s their guidance on how to craft an impactful public comment.