GOODER AND HARDER: Biden energy ban an economic hammer to Colorado.

Between 2021-2024, Biden’s leasing ban will eliminate 5,172 jobs annually, wipe out $2.8 billion in oil and natural gas investments, $1.3 billion in production, $546 million in much-needed tax revenue and a whopping $1.6 billion in high-paying wages.

Colorado’s neighbors to the north and south face similar threats from President Biden’s ban.

As the fifth-largest oil and natural gas-producing state, New Mexico extracts nearly half of its oil and 67% of its natural gas from leases on federal lands. Before the pandemic, tax revenue generated from oil and production overall comprised 20% of the state’s budget. With 62,000 jobs at stake, a federal leasing ban will be catastrophic for one of the country’s most poverty-stricken states.

A federal leasing ban is equally devastating for the Cowboy State. Wyoming’s oil and gas economy is dependent upon federal oil and gas leases. A federal leasing prohibition will severely impact 51% of the state’s oil production and a whopping 92% of its natural gas production.

Ouch.