FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Grove Gary A 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 12/14/2011 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. [BCEI] (Last) (First) (Middle) 410 17TH STREET, SUITE 1500 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __X__ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Exec VP Engineering & Planning 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) DENVER, CO 80202 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Class A Common Stock 135,953 D   Class A Common Stock 197,867 I (1) Footnote (1) Class B Common Stock (2) 2,000 D Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Grove Gary A 410 17TH STREET SUITE 1500 DENVER, CO 80202	  X	Â	  Exec VP Engineering & Planning	Â

Signatures

Chris Humber as Attorney-in-Fact		12/14/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	197,867 Shares held by Bonanza Creek Employee Holdings, LLC ("BCEH"), over which Messrs. Grove and Michael R. Starzer exercise joint voting and dispositive control.
(2)	Shares of Class B common stock have been issued in the form of restricted stock subject the following vesting schedule: 1/3 per year for three years following the initial public offering of the Issuer's common stock. Pursuant to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation of the Issuer, immediately prior to the closing of an initial public offering of the Issuer's common stock, all shares of Class B common stock automatically will convert into shares of Class A common stock, at which time each share of Class A common stock will be reclassified as one share of common stock of the Issuer. Shares of common stock previously held as Class B Common Stock will remain subject to vesting.

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