Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Coal Oil Rim ACEC
BLM found a natural system here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 3 oil and gas leases inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 3,191 acres and was designated July 1, 1997, in the 1997 Whiter River RMP. In the plan's name, RMP stands for resource management plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The 3 leases and 2 grazing allotments below aren't marked.The oil and gas leases
3 active oil and gas leases sit inside the line. 1 of them took effect before the area was designated on July 1, 1997.
- MAGNUM PRODUCING LP2leases
- Holder not listed by BLM1lease
Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Spooky Mtn29,704acres
- Raven Park19,887acres
The nearest areas
- Raven Ridge ACECColorado · 5,010 acres · 2 oil and gas leases, 1 right of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it10miles
- Moosehead Mountain ACECColorado · 8,972 acres · 1 right of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- Yanks Gulch/Upper Greasewood Creek ACECColorado · 2,722 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it16miles
- White River Riparian ACECColorado · 901 acres · 7 rights of way, 27 grazing allotments covering part of it16miles
- Coal Draw ACECColorado · 1,824 acres · 7 oil and gas leases, 5 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it21miles
More from BLM's Colorado office
Every area BLM's Colorado office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Coal Oil Rim ACEC. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026