The hits to our public lands just keep on coming. First, we saw the budget reconciliation bill tip the scales in favor of the fossil-fuel industry by aiming to hand over 200 million acres of public lands. Then came the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which would erase protections for 45 million acres of national forest lands. Now, we’re faced with the rollback of the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule amid a federal government shutdown.
Finalized in 2024, the BLM Public Lands Rule was a landmark victory that placed conservation and outdoor recreation on equal footing with extractive uses like drilling and mining on the BLM’s 245 million-acre estate. This step provided direction for a balanced approach that was prescribed for the agency by Congress in 1976 but never fully adopted, despite the agency’s “multiple use and sustained yield” mandate.
Colorado is an outdoor recreation paradise — and the BLM manages 8.3 million acres of those public lands. Yet only about 8% of BLM-managed public lands are permanently protected through designations like wilderness or national conservation areas. The other 92% are at greater risk of more extractive use. In fact, 74% of BLM lands in Colorado are already available for oil and gas leasing.
People flock here from across the country and the globe for the freedom to hike, bike, climb, camp and ski — helping fuel our outdoor recreation and tourism economies.
According to the 2025-2029 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, outdoor recreation contributes $62.5 billion to Colorado’s economy and supports 511,000 jobs. Yet recent budget and staffing cuts to the agencies responsible for stewarding our public lands — now paired with the government shutdown — means neglected trails, unmaintained facilities and increased safety risks.
For those of us who are fortunate to call Colorado home, our relationship with public lands is deeply personal. The great outdoors represent who we are as Coloradans. They offer opportunities to recreate, spend quality time with loved ones and find respite from our daily lives.
Attacks on our public lands are an attack on our freedom to enjoy them. Locking them up in the name of greed goes vehemently against what Coloradans stand for: pristine public lands, vibrant communities and thriving economies.
The rollback of the BLM Public Lands Rule is by design. It’s part of a larger, coordinated scheme by the Trump administration to render the “public” part of our public lands useless, so the only option left is to privatize or industrialize them for profit.
Despite an outpour of nationwide support for our public lands in recent months, this latest attempt to gut our public lands is yet another reminder that current leadership in Washington does not have the public’s best interest — or really any of our interests — at heart.
Instead, the Trump administration and Congress are hurling a wrecking ball at our public lands, and Colorado is squarely in their crosshairs. It’s time we take the lead in fighting back against these anticonservation policies that threaten our communities, our freedom to explore and the future of our shared lands — now and for generations to come.
Every voice matters. Evident earlier this year when broad public outcry — from hunters and anglers to conservationists and advocates — led to removal of Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s public lands selloff provision in the budget reconciliation bill. Year after year, in public opinion poll after poll, Coloradans express their desire for more conservation and more protected places, not less.
The close of the BLM Public Lands Rule comment period is fast approaching. Coloradans must step up and lead the charge — from our statewide elected officials and local elected officials to folks from all walks of life. I urge you to submit your comments by Nov. 10 and voice your opposition to the rollback of this critically important rule. Colorado’s future depends on all of us coming together to defend what is ours.
Jim Ramey, of Grand Junction, is the Colorado state director for The Wilderness Society, where he works to protect public lands, reduce climate emissions and ensure equitable access to our great outdoors.
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