Who’s defending Ouray?
1 case live in federal court over this place, filed 2025Wildlife refuge in Utah.
The defenders
Nobody has claimed this fight yet
No group in our directory carries Ouray in its work yet. That is not the same as nobody fighting: if you know the group that belongs here, tell us and our editors will look at it.
13 more work nearby but are not tied to Ouray on the record
On the ground in Utah
More ways in
The situation
What’s happening to Ouray
The BLM Utah State Director intends to prepare an amendment to the Vernal Resource Management Plan, with an Environmental Assessment, to consider opening the federal minerals beneath Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing, subject to a no surface occupancy stipulation. Under the proposed action, wells would reach the minerals by directional or horizontal drilling from pads outside the refuge boundary; the no action alternative keeps the refuge closed to leasing. The BLM names two reasons: outside interest in leasing those minerals, and Executive Order 14154 and Secretary’s Order 3418, both titled Unleashing American Energy. Scoping comments closed October 5, 2026. The BLM says it will announce a public meeting at least 15 days ahead on its NEPA Register project page.
- 2026Threat identified and added to the map
No public comment window is open on Ouray right now. The groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
In the courts
The cases over this place
The dockets we track that name Ouray directly. Active first.
Your move
How to stand for Ouray
Open comment windows and call scripts for fights like this one, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapBuild my lineup around Ouray: the leading group here opens it, and the other seats fill from this record.
Ouray has defenders. It needs more.
The work is theirs. The backing is yours.