In a five to two vote Wednesday night the Grand Junction city council decided to join the town of Palisade in submitting a formal protest requesting the removal of identified watershed parcels from auction. In addition to sending a letter of protest to the Bureau Of Land Management, the city council also decided to send letters to our congressmen and senators asking them to intervene and pull the parcels of land directly linked to the Grand Junction and Palisade watersheds from auction. The BLM's quarterly auction is planned for February 9th. At that time energy companies can purchase a 10 year lease in order to extract the minerals under the surface of the land that in some cases is owned by the city. The city is hoping filing a letter of formal protest will protect the city's water supply from some unknowns. The city's letter protesting the auction of parcels must be submitted by January 25th.
