Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill protects tens of thousands of acres of Colorado public lands by designating new wilderness areas, wildlife conservation areas, and a national recreation area. It also permanently withdraws the Thompson Divide region from oil and gas leasing while creating a pilot program to capture fugitive methane from abandoned coal mines.
Who Benefits and How
Conservation and environmental groups benefit from permanent wilderness protections preventing development on over 30,000 acres. Recreation businesses and outdoor enthusiasts gain access to new designated recreation areas. Indian Tribes retain traditional ceremonial and plant-gathering rights on protected lands. Livestock grazing permittees may receive continued grazing authorizations in some wilderness areas.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Oil and gas companies lose access to develop leases in the Thompson Divide area, though they receive credits for relinquished leases that can be applied elsewhere in Colorado. The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service face new administrative requirements for managing protected areas and developing methane capture programs.
Key Provisions
- Adds approximately 31,000 acres to existing wilderness areas and creates new wilderness designations
- Establishes the Curecanti National Recreation Area under National Park Service management
- Permanently withdraws Thompson Divide from oil and gas leasing, offering credits to existing leaseholders
- Creates a fugitive methane capture pilot program to reduce emissions from abandoned coal mines
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Designates wilderness areas, wildlife conservation areas, special management areas, and a national recreation area in Colorado while withdrawing land from oil and gas leasing in the Thompson Divide region.
Key Policy Areas
Public Lands, Environment, Wildlife, Recreation, Energy
Primary Purpose
Designates wilderness areas, wildlife conservation areas, special management areas, and a national recreation area in Colorado while withdrawing land from oil and gas leasing in the Thompson Divide region.
Policy Domains
Title I - Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness, and Camp Hale Legacy Act
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Conservation groups
- Wildlife
- Recreation users
- Indian Tribes
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Forest Service
- Motorized vehicle users
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Title II - San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Conservation groups
- Wildlife
- Indian Tribes
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- Motorized recreation users
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Title IV - Curecanti National Recreation Area Establishment Act
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Recreation users
- National Park Service
- Tourism industry
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Bureau of Land Management
- Forest Service
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Title III - Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Conservation groups
- Local communities
- Air quality
- Methane capture industry
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Oil and gas companies
- Bureau of Land Management
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, …
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service
Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service face effects in multiple directions
Conservation and environmental groups, Conservation groups, Wildlife and habitat conservation
Backcountry recreation businesses, Motorized recreation users, Motorized recreation users (ATVs, snowmobiles)
Positive-direction: Backcountry recreation businesses, Outdoor recreation businesses, Tourism and recreation businesses
Negative-direction: Motorized recreation users, Motorized recreation users (ATVs, snowmobiles), Mountain biking organizations
Methane capture and utilization companies, Mining and extraction industries, Mining companies
Positive-direction: Methane capture and utilization companies, Oil and gas companies with Thompson Divide leases
Negative-direction: Mining and extraction industries, Mining companies
Timber and logging companies, Timber industry
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service)
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service)
- "the_secretary_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "director_nps"
- → Director of the National Park Service
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "commissioner_reclamation"
- → Commissioner of Reclamation
Note: 'The Secretary' refers to Secretary of Agriculture in Titles I and II but Secretary of the Interior in Titles III and IV
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Methane gas from Federal land in Garfield, Gunnison, Delta, or Pitkin County that would leak or be vented into the atmosphere from active/inactive coal mines subject to Federal coal leases or abandoned underground coal mines
The Greater Thompson Divide Fugitive Coal Mine Methane Use Pilot Program established by section 305(a)(1)
Any oil or gas lease in effect on the date of enactment within the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Area, excluding leases associated with Wolf Creek Storage Field development rights
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology