Angela Rae Harris's Blog, page 40
September 9, 2025
Broncos sign RB Deuce Vaughn to practice squad
A week after the Broncos worked out Deuce Vaughn, he was signed Tuesday to their practice squad.
Vaughn’s agent, Jovan Barnes, had told The Denver Gazette earlier on Tuesday that a deal had been reached on the 5-foot-6 running back. He takes the practice squad spot of quarterback Sam Ehlinger, signed last Saturday to the 53-man roster.
Vaughn was a sixth-round pick by Dallas in 2023 out of Kansas State after rushing for 1,404 and 1,558 yards in his final two seasons with the Wildcats. He carried 40 times for 110 yards in two seasons with the Cowboys before being waived late last month.
“He’s a hard worker,’’ Barnes said. “There could be a connection (with the Broncos). … I was excited when they expressed their interest and now it’s up to Deuce to do what he does.”
Barnes added: ” … “He’s a great player and a great young man.”
Dallas Cowboys running back Deuce Vaughn (42) carries the ball during a preseason NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)Vaughn worked out with the Broncos on Sept. 2, but they elected then to sign wide receiver Thayer Thomas to the practice squad. However, Barnes remained confident the Denver would circle back with Vaughn.
“Deuce is going to do whatever it takes,’’ Barnes said. “He’s just that kind of kid. He’ll make himself an added value to the team.”
Vaughn becomes the fifth Denver running back available for practice. The Broncos have four on the 53-man roster in J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Dobbins started last Sunday’s 20-12 win over Tennessee in the opener and had 16 carries for 63 yards, while Harvey had six attempts for 70 yards. Badie had no carries and two catches for 16 yards.
McLaughlin was inactive for the game, with one reason perhaps being related to special teams. Badie was used for 14 snaps on special teams against the Titans, while McLaughlin, in his third season, had just three such snaps for all of 2024.
Broncos work out fourThe Broncos on Tuesday worked out four players, but one is now off the board.
A source said defensive end K.J. Henry will sign with Cleveland’s practice squad. He has played in 14 NFL regular-season games.
The Broncos also worked out linebacker Kingsley Jonathan, who has played in 20 NFL games, linebacker Benton Whitley, who has appeared in six, and linebacker Mitchell Agude, who has played in four.
A source said Whitley plans to work out later this week with the Titans.
Surtain lauds HufangaIn 2022, both cornerback Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga were named first-team All-Pro. Surtain is thrilled they are now on the same team.
Hufanga, who earned his All-Pro nod while with San Francisco, signed as a free agent with Denver last March after four years with the 49ers. In his Broncos debut against Tennessee, he had 10 tackles and forced a fumble.
“It was pretty cool to see him,’’ said Surtain, who last season earned his second career first-team All-Pro nod and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. “It was like he was running around with his hair on fire, making plays, flying around, creating turnovers, making impact plays. That’s what we brought him here for.”
BrieflyHead coach Sean Payton said Monday about linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who suffered a quad injury in a July 31 practice and sat out the Broncos’ three preseason games and their opener: “You’re going to see him sooner than later.’’ A source told The Denver Gazette last Saturday that Greenlaw would be out “not long” and “there’s a chance” he could play Sunday at Indianapolis. … After giving up just 133 yards to the Titans, the Broncos lead the NFL in defense but Jordan Jackson said there is still plenty of work to be done. “We had a good game, but there’s always room for improvement,’’ said Jackson, a defensive lineman who played at Air Force. “There’s some stuff to work on.” … The Broncos opened as a 3.5-point favorite over the Colts, coming off a 33-8 home win over Miami. But the line has dropped to 2.5 points.
Broncos name Burnham Yard as ‘preferred site’ of new stadium location
The Broncos are one step closer to a new home.
The team released a joint letter on Tuesday — from co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis — naming Burnham Yard as the “preferred site” for construction of the next Broncos stadium.
Burnham Yard is a historic Denver rail yard south of Colfax Avenue and east of Interstate 25. The Broncos were previously connected to a series of land deals, totaling $146 million, surrounding the area.
The Broncos are planning for “a world-class retractable roof stadium anchoring a dynamic mixed-use district” that will be privately financed with “no new taxes,” according to the joint letter. The playing surface will be natural grass.
The Broncos are targeting the 2031 NFL season as a stadium completion date. The team’s lease to play games at Empower Field at Mile High runs through 2030. Burnham Yard is about one mile southeast of the current stadium.
“Today is not yet a celebration but rather a meaningful checkpoint reflecting years of research, collaboration and planning as well as necessary land agreements and feasibility studies,” the joint letter states. “Most importantly, this announcement marks the beginning of a much deeper and transparent phase of broader engagement with our neighbors.”
The state currently owns Burnham Yard. The Colorado Department of Transportation bought the 58-acre property in 2021. It planned to widen I-25 and relocate railroad tracks, but after a transportation planning study, the state decided it wasn’t feasible and opened the process to sell it. The Broncos have a “conceptual agreement” to purchase the land, the team said.
The area is also home to Denver Water and the site of its operations complex. The public agency must “relocate some of its facilities on the south side of the complex” for the proposed stadium plan to work, according to a news release. Relocation includes buildings that currently house the public agency’s operations and maintenance, distribution, trades, fleet, meter shop warehouse and health clinic workers.
“While this is not something we sought, Denver Water understands the significance of this opportunity for the city of Denver and the economic importance for the larger community we serve,” Denver Water CEO/manager Alan Salazar said in a news release. “Over the last several months, we have been exploring how we can help to keep the Broncos in Denver at their preferred location without compromising our critical mission or jeopardizing our financial or operational needs. Most important of all, accommodating a new stadium cannot be financed or subsidized by our ratepayers.”
The surrounding neighborhood to Burnham Yard is La Alma-Lincoln Park. It is home to a significant blue-collar and Latino population as the epicenter of Denver’s Chicano movement.
“We are excited to work with the Broncos on the community benefits agreement that will meet the needs and concerns of the neighborhood,” Nolan Hahn, president of the La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, told The Denver Gazette.
Among the neighborhood’s top priorities is traffic safety and how a massive influx of future game-goers could reshape the character of their neighborhood.
“We already have a lot of cars moving through our neighborhood at high speeds, and we don’t want more,” Hahn said. “So we’d like to see as many people as possible get to the stadium by other means.”
“The Broncos are fully committed to a strong and inclusive Community Benefits Agreement process that will begin immediately,” the joint letter states. “Together, we will work hand-in-hand with the Denver City Council, local neighborhoods and community organizations — including Denver Water — to shape this vision with their needs and priorities in mind.”
The Broncos also considered new stadium sites outside of Denver, including Lone Tree and Aurora.
Several Broncos players reacted Tuesday on social media to the Burnham Yard plans.
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto: “Huge news! Greg and Carrie Penner continue to invest in our team and city!”
Defensive end Zach Allen: “This is awesome! Love this investment from Greg and Carrie and so excited to keep playing in the best city for the best fans!”
Inside linebacker Alex Singleton: “Best city and best owners in the world, love what will always be next for this team!”
Kicker Wil Lutz: “Big things happening! Excited for the future at Burnham Yard!”
Mayor perspective
Johnston told The Denver Gazette that he prioritized making sure the stadium wasn’t taxpayer funded, that it would be located on the west side of the city and easily accessible by public transit.
“On every front, this was our dream come true outcome,” Johnston said.
While the Broncos will privately fund the land and the stadium, Denver’s mayor said currently the city’s main job will be to build out the roads that make up the neighborhood.
When asked if there were any contingency plans in case the Broncos decided not to move the stadium, Johnston said “we’re all in on making this site work.”
Johnston added that he believes the Broncos are the best bet to revitalizing Burnham Yard, a complicated piece of land that has been empty for more than a decade and still needs environmental remediation and a rail line moved.
“I don’t think there are any other developers that could bring the type of resources you would need to make this site successful,” Johnston said.
If the Broncos leave, the 80 acres that make up Empower Field will belong to the city and give officials a blank space to create another new development. Johnston said there’s currently no plans for the current stadium site, but a community process will begin soon to have a vision ready within four to five years.
“So, the day that the Broncos move out, we’re ready to put shovels in the ground to make something magical happen over on the west side of Denver,” he said.
The deal could create a potential for more affordable housing in the area, the mayor said, as the city has control over the land and how it’ll be used. And as part of the community benefits agreement, Johnston said they’re working to prioritize affordable housing at Burnham Yards, too.
“These are two new neighborhoods where Denverites can hope that they’ll get to call home someday and where hopefully our kids and grandkids will get to live someday,” the mayor said.
Johnston also stressed that investing in new stadiums like the Broncos and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Denver Summit team can help the city climb out of its budget woes that have led to mass layoffs of city workers.
Attracting major events like the Super Bowl, Taylor Swift concerts and the Final Four is more feasible with a retractable roof and can help bring in more than $1 billion in sales tax revenue to the city each year, according to the mayor.
“We think our job is to grow our way out of this crisis as much as it is to manage our expenditures,” Johnston said.
He said no city money will fund the construction or the land, as will no dollars from the city’s general fund will contribute to the stadium. Johnston stressed that the Broncos’ commitment to pay for a world-class stadium in Denver is an “unprecedented” deal.
The Broncos did not specify the private cost of building the new stadium. But it is expected to be a multi-billion dollar project if compared to recently constructed NFL stadiums. SoFi Stadium, the NFL home of the Chargers and Rams located in Inglewood, Calif., was privately funded by Stan Kroenke — owner of the Avalanche, Nuggets and Rapids. It was a $5.5 billion project that opened in 2020.
Below is the Broncos’ joint letter in full:
Broncos Country,
Today marks an important step forward in a shared vision for the Denver Broncos, the city of Denver and the state of Colorado.
Together, we are pleased to announce historic Burnham Yard in the heart of Denver as the preferred site for a world-class retractable roof stadium anchoring a dynamic mixed-use district. Once a vital railyard that played a key role in Denver’s past, Burnham Yard now represents a transformational opportunity to reimagine the future with deep respect for the rich history of the area.
In the spirit of a true civic partnership, the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group will privately fund this investment and work with the community, city and state to reconnect historic neighborhoods—with no new taxes. These shared public improvements will ensure benefits extend far beyond gamedays with better accessibility, connectivity and multimodal transit options.
While this is an exciting milestone, we recognize there is much more work to be done ahead of a targeted stadium completion for the 2031 NFL season. Today is not yet a celebration but rather a meaningful checkpoint reflecting years of research, collaboration and planning as well as necessary land agreements and feasibility studies.
Most importantly, this announcement marks the beginning of a much deeper and transparent phase of broader engagement with our neighbors.
The Broncos are fully committed to a strong and inclusive Community Benefits Agreement process that will begin immediately. Together, we will work hand-in-hand with the Denver City Council, local neighborhoods and community organizations—including Denver Water—to shape this vision with their needs and priorities in mind.
Our goal for this ambitious project is to build a community that connects fans, neighbors and future generations across Colorado. In addition to creating a modern new home for the Broncos, this vibrant hub will attract premiere events driving impact for Denver and the entire Rocky Mountain Region.
With a storied history that predates Colorado statehood, Burnham Yard stands poised to be revitalized into a thriving development where sports & entertainment, housing, business and community blend to create a one-of-a-kind year-round destination.
Denver has been the proud home of the Broncos since Day 1. This community-inspired vision will allow our city and team to continue to grow and thrive together at Burnham Yard.
There is a long road ahead and we believe we can get there together. Every step of the way, our approach will be guided by humility, respect and a shared commitment to the city of Denver, state of Colorado and all of Broncos Country.
Sincerely,
Greg Penner & Carrie Walton Penner, Broncos Owners
Mike Johnston, Denver Mayor
Jared Polis, Colorado Governor
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Denver Gazette reporters Bernadette Berdychowski and Deborah Grigsby contributed to this report.
Air Force’s Leggett earns water polo player of the week award | Colorado Sunshine
Air Force junior Tom Leggett was named West Coast Conference men’s water polo player of the week Tuesday, the second-straight week he’s won the award and the fifth time in his college career.
The Santa Barbara, Calif., native had 34 points (22 goals, 12 assists) in helping the Falcons to a 5-0 record at the Rare Air Invitational. He leads the nation in goals and assists and led the Falcons in scoring in all five games.
Leggett also passed 300 career goals, making him the second player in Falcons history to reach that mark.
Air Force plays Friday and Saturday at the Titan Invite in Fullerton, Calif.
Snowboarder seriously injured after falling 100 feet down glacier in Colorado
It might be September and there might not be much snow around the Centennial State, but that doesn’t always stop Colorado’s winter slopesport enthusiasts from tracking down powder wherever it can be found. Apparently, one of those spots is Skyscraper Glacier near Rollins Pass.
According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, a 27-year-old male was reported to have sustained serious injuries after taking a fall during his descent of Skyscraper Glacier while snowboarding at about 2:25 p.m. on September 8. A report on the matter details that the male slid and tumbled for about 100 feet, ultimately landing in a bergschrund – which is a type of crevasse that tends to form at the head of a glacier.
Rescue personnel were airlifted to a mountain ridge above the snowfield, with others heading into the area via UTVs and on foot. A rescue helicopter was also alerted, in the event that a hoist was needed.
An image of the rescue. Courtesy photo: Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.Members of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group were ultimately able to reach the man by traversing a 300-foot stretch of glacial snow, securing him and providing initial medical care by 5:45 p.m.
An uphaul system was then used to raise the patient to the top of the glacier, which was deemed to be the least hazardous evacuation option. Once at the top of the snowfield, the man was raised another 50 feet over an eroding ridge, with a MedEvac then transporting him from the scene for care at a hospital by 8:10 p.m.
Rescuers were out of the field by 1:00 a.m.
The following agencies were included in the rescue effort: Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Grand County Search and Rescue, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County EMS, Northern Colorado MedEvac, and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group.
Inside Denver’s new F1 Arcade – full of racing simulators, exposed brick and … Blucifer cocktails?
The seats jolted as the Formula One race car on the screen veered off the concrete course onto gritty dirt. Speakers hidden in the seat’s head rest blasted the sound of the engine revving straight into the ears after a push to the pedal accelerated the car.
On the rookie level, green guiding lines help beginners get accustomed to driving on the racing simulator. Meanwhile, in expert mode, racers are completely on their own.
This is no Mario Kart.
F1 Arcade, an entertainment complex with nearly 70 simulators based off the fast-growing elite racing competition, has arrived in Denver.
The arcade located in the River North Arts District at 2734 Walnut St. is the company’s fourth U.S. location as F1 sets to propel its entertainment strategy across the nation.
It opens in Denver on Wednesday.
The racing competition owned by Liberty Media, locally headquartered in Englewood, is quickly growing across the U.S. as viewership numbers climb and the blockbuster movie F1 hit theaters this summer.
Live race viewership is up 23% in the United States from 2024’s seasonal average, F1 said in a post two weeks ago. The U.S. fanbase grew to 52 million this year.
“They’ve invested in a very big way into the sport in the U.S. I think it’s the biggest untapped market they see as potential,” Jon Gardner, U.S. president of F1 Arcade, told The Denver Gazette.
F1 has a presence with major races in Austin, Texas, Miami and Las Vegas. But the arcade is a way to engage new fans in markets that aren’t major strongholds for the brand.
“This is not an F1 fan experience, per se. This is for everyone,” Gardner said. “We’re able to attract the F1 fans and non-F1 fans and bring them into an experience that they haven’t had before.”
F1 Arcade plans to add about 30 locations across the U.S. by 2027.
It already has locations in Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C. with plans to expand to Atlanta and Las Vegas next.
Kevin Carringer tests out a racing simulator in RiNo’s new F1 Arcade on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 before its upcoming opening.The 15,000-square-foot arcade in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood features a U-shaped bar with glowing black-and-white racing stripes.
Neon lamps in the shape of race courses hang from the vaulted ceilings. F1 Arcade left the exposed brick of the old RiNo building’s walls and accented it with more neon lights. One neon sculpture on the wall replicates the heart rate of three F1 racers in the middle of a race.
Incorporating the exposed brick and the vaulted ceilings from the structure is one of the most differentiating features of the F1 Arcade in Denver, Gardner said.
“We’ve got a lot of people saying this is one of their favorite venues that we’ve had. The beauty is all of our locations are a little bit unique,” he explained. “This is the biggest change that we’ve taken from our traditional concept into the RiNo area.”
The entertainment complex combined three old buildings that used to be vacant office and warehouse spaces in the RiNo District, said Kevin Carringer, vice president at Trinity Investors, the real estate group that led the development of the space.
They spent about $7 million for the property in 2024 and reinvested about another $7 million to transform it into the arcade, Carringer said. F1 Arcade also built out an outdoor patio and has a rental room with a private bar and simulators for corporate events.
“We came over and tore it, and it made a lot of sense to take an unused building, retrofit it and turn it into something great for the community,” Carringer said.
F1 Arcade hired local muralist Ally Grimes to create artwork that ties racetracks with Denver’s Rocky Mountain scenery.
But it’s not just the historic brick aesthetic popular in RiNo that differentiates Denver’s F1 Arcade.
The bar at the new F1 Arcade features local cocktails, craft beers and more.The F1 Arcade model has a heavy focus on food and beverage. The menu has a high-end and localized cocktail menu developed by LP O’Brien, winner of Netflix’s Drink Masters, and award-winning mixologist Alex Jump.
On the menu is a drink called “Blucifer’s Bolt” (a combination of bourbon, peach brandy, coffee, sweet vermouth, amontillado and absinthe), and is described as “bold, dark and driven” like the iconic blue mustang sculpture outside of Denver International Airport.
It also has a drink inspired by South Park’s Casa Bonita episode called the Mantequilla, which is Butter’s Spanish name. It features tequila, raspberry, browned butter, lime and champagne.
Reporter Bernadette Berdychowski and investor Kevin Carringer test out the F1 Arcade’s racing simulators on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 in Denver, Colo.The F1 Arcade wants to not just be a racing simulator or a bar, but a full experience, Gardner said. Especially as people’s attention spans get shorter, he said they wanted to create something that is highly interactive for groups of friends and family to engage with.
“What we’re trying to do is drive something you’ve never had before,” Gardner said. “And that’s from the music, to the design, to the sense, to the food and the drinks.”
Guests will be able to create digital profiles to track their scores and time records throughout their visits.
The racing simulators are priced by peak, standard and off-peak times. The lowest prices start at $22 per person for three races.
F1 Arcade takes walk-ins but recommends pre-booking before visits as simulators fill up fast. For group visits of more than five people, Gardner said F1 Arcade may limit how many simulators it offers to encourage sharing of the simulators so some friends can race while others watch and chat.
“The point is, you’re not just here hardcore racing,” Gardner said. “You’re having a drink, you’re laughing, you’re watching everyone crash and you’re in and out of the sim the whole time.”
Mark Kiszla: No. 1 reason to build new Broncos stadium? More touchdowns, not mo’ money
Let’s not get it bassackwards, Broncos Country.
The primary reason to build a new football stadium isn’t to get a Super Bowl to Denver for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
The No. 1 goal should be to get the Broncos to the Super Bowl on a regular basis.
The Denver Broncos cheerleaders wave to the crowd before the season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. (The Denver Gazette, Christian Murdock)A new football stadium in the Mile High City will be a boon to real estate investors and community spirit alike.
But the No. 1 job of a new playing facility should be to win the Broncos football games.
Period.
End of story.
While everything from a retractable dome to robotic bartenders would be 21st-century cool, if team owners Greg and Carrie Penner spend billions of the Walmart fortune on a new stadium that fails to give the Broncos the best home-field advantage in the league, they’re doing it wrong.
Yes, stadium construction will spur heated, legitimate debates between now and September 2031, when we can expect a beloved, balding and 31-year-old quarterback named Bo Nix to lead the Broncos onto the field for the NFL season opener in their new digs at an old railroad yard.
Longtime loyal fans who have proudly worn orange to home games for generations will gripe about paying a hefty surcharge for private seat licenses merely to keep season tickets in the family.
As his first term of the mayor comes to an end, Mike Johnston will claim getting a commitment from the Broncos to keep the team within the city limits without burdening taxpayers is proof Denver is not rotting from the inside during a slow, steady decline.
The residents of the historic, funky La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood will moan about the real estate vultures circling overhead.
But I don’t really give a hoot about all that.
The Penner-Walton ownership group intentionally avoided the fanfare of putting shovels in the ground Tuesday at the Burnham Yard site east of Interstate 25 to demonstrate an understanding that being stewards of a Denver civic treasure carries great responsibility.
But it also has been their thinly veiled secret since buying the team for $4.65 billion from the Bowlen family in 2022 that it was only a matter of when, not if, the Broncos would build a new home.
Here’s guessing the Penner-Walton group might spend even more money than the hefty purchase price on constructing a year-round entertainment district anchored by a stadium big enough to host everything from the Final Four to WrestleMania and Taylor Swift or the Super Bowl.
Football stadiums are no longer merely sports venues. They’re cash machines meant to crank dollars 365 days a year from condos and political conventions alike.
On scouting missions from Los Angeles to London, here’s hoping the construction research team kept a separate folder for ideas on how a stadium can not only provide more revenue for the Broncos, but more touchdowns on the scoreboard.
While covering football, I’ve been everywhere, man.
In my not-so-humble opinion, too many new stadiums miss the real point.
The Raiders’ home feels like an extension of The Strip, as if what Las Vegas needs is another gaudy venue to hear an over-the-hill rock band while sipping on overpriced cocktails. Don’t we already have the Sphere for that purpose?
The wide-open concourses of SoFi are California cool, but that stadium feels more like a monument to Stan Kroenke’s ego than a place visiting teams hate to play.
So here’s a big opportunity for Greg and Carrie Penner to build smarter.
Let Broncomaniacs in the stands be so close to the action a visiting coach can smell the Coors beer on their breath.
The best bells or whistles the new stadium could have are acoustics designed to capture noise so ear-rattling an opposing quarterback can’t hear himself think.
In the spirit of 1977, the new South Stands should be designed as a no-sit zone for die-hards, by enlarging and improving on the idea of “The Wall” found in the L.A. Clippers’ new basketball arena.
Although there will be a financial temptation to leverage the 100,000 folks on the ticket waiting list by building the Broncos the largest facility in the league, I say the best way to get the joint really rocking would be to reduce capacity to no more than 55,000 lucky patrons.
For too long, copy-cat stadiums have been designed for something that kind-of-a-big-deal architects like to call the total entertainment experience.
Well, you know what the best fan experience for paying customers always has been and always will be?
Winning.
In Denver, the mission statement for a new Broncos stadium should be abundantly clear to visiting NFL teams:
Welcome to 5,280 feet.
Enjoy your stay.
And take that “L” with you on the way out.
BLM leases nearly 8,000 acres in quarterly oil and gas sale
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recent quarterly oil and gas lease sale totaled around $7 million in receipts and covered nearly 8,000 acres of land.
BLM leased 14 Colorado parcels — making up 7,895 acres — to energy companies, granting them the exclusive right to explore and produce oil and gas for 10 years. These leases can be extended if the companies are producing oil and gas on the sites in “paying quantities,” according to a news release from the BLM.
The leases totaled $6,730,718 in revenue that will be dispersed between the federal government and Colorado, according to the news release. The state usually receives around 50% of the revenue.
The lease sale comes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4. Under the bill, the royalty rate for new federal onshore oil and gas production was dropped to a minimum of 12.5%, reversing the 16.67% rate set by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
“By lowering the federal onshore royalty rate from 16.67% to 12.5%, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduces the cost of doing business on public lands, making oil and gas development more economically attractive to industry. This is expected to spur additional leasing and drilling activity, which in turn supports increased domestic energy production and strengthens U.S. energy security,” a BLM official said in the release.
BLM also added that these leases are the first step in producing federal oil and gas resources and the bureau will ensure oil and gas development meets the requirements set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable legal authorities.
By statute, BLM is required to hold quarterly lease sales. In May, BLM announced a policy change to make the sales quicker, aiming to complete the entire process within six months.
To meet this goal, the BLM will no longer defer parcels prior to completing all National Environmental Policy Act reviews, allowing the reviews to be conducted simultaneously with the National Energy Policy Act compliance process.
These changes all come under Kathleen Sgamma — president of the Colorado-based oil industry trade group Western Energy Alliance — who was named director of the Bureau of Land Management by Trump in February.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
