Mason Cummings
The future of public lands in Colorado is increasingly at risk
Public lands in Colorado face constant pressure from extraction, overuse, unchecked development and even efforts to sell them off. Whether through proposals to auction off public lands or legislation to open them to expanded oil and gas leasing, these threats put recreation access, wildlife habitat and cultural resources at risk.
Several proposals in Congress have attempted to force the sale of millions of acres of federally managed lands to pay for tax breaks benefiting the wealthy. In Colorado, such proposals could strip protections from public lands with popular trails, campgrounds and hunting areas, handing them over for private development with little public input.
Protecting public lands keeps them healthy, open and free to explore for generations to come.
The threats
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Attacks on national monuments
Congressional attacks on the Antiquities Act (used by U.S. presidents to create national monuments) and proposals by this administration to rescind or reduce national monuments are a serious threat to places that protect ecological, cultural and historic heritage. In Colorado, these proposals threaten unique treasures like Browns Canyon and Canyons of the Ancients national monuments.
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Weakening Land Management Agencies
Budget cuts, staffing reductions, and political interference have reduced the capacity of federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to effectively steward Colorado’s public lands.
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Politicized attacks on bedrock environmental laws
Congress and the administration are aiming to unravel the cornerstone the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act—opening the door to unchecked development and irreversible damage to the health of our public lands.
What we're doing
Thanks to broad, bipartisan opposition, TWS and our partners have successfully defeated attempts to dispose of public lands—but similar threats keep coming. We’re standing up for Colorado’s public lands by:
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Mobilizing voices
We’re working with communities, coalitions and officials at every level to make clear that public lands are not for sale—and that their future should reflect stewardship, access and local values.
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Policy advocacy
We’re urging Congress to pass bills that protect our public lands and reject public land sell-offs that treat these places as revenue-generating assets instead of critical components to our health and well-being deserving of lasting protections.
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Defending access and integrity
When threats arise, we help build coalitions to defend public lands and protect recreation access, wildlife habitat, clean water and the communities that depend on them.
