A coalition of local, regional, and national citizens groups today challenged the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s decision to open up more than 174,000 acres of Colorado to oil and gas drilling without taking action to protect Colorado’s climate.

In his 2007 Climate Action Plan, Colorado Governor Ritter reported that climate change will lead to prolonged heat waves, more air pollution, snow-starved winters, deeper droughts, more wildfires, widespread beetle infestations wiping out forests, and the spread of West Nile virus. Similarly, an August 2007 report by the Government Accountability Office found that federal land and water resources managed by the Bureau of Land Management are highly vulnerable to a wide range of climate change impacts, many of which are already occurring. Simply put, climate change is a major threat to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.