Colorado Groups Submit Letter Opposing Representative Boebert’s Legislation to Prevent the BLM from Finalizing Management Plans for Western Colorado

March 20, 2024- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Francis Sanzaro, Communications Director, Wilderness Workshop, francis@wildernessworkshop.org. Jim Ramey, Colorado State Director, The Wilderness Society, jim_ramey@tws.org

GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Twenty organizations across Colorado have signed a letter in opposition to Rep. Boebert’s H.R. 6547, a bill that seeks to circumvent a court-ordered public process for management of roughly two-million acres of public land in western Colorado. The Bill received a hearing in a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee.

The bill in question, H.R. 6547, seeks to prevent the Secretary of the Interior from implementing draft management plans for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Colorado River Valley and Grand Junction Field Offices, which the agency is currently revising as a result of a U.S. District Court ruling and subsequent settlement agreement. The court had ordered the BLM to revise those plans by broadening the range of alternatives with respect to what lands are available for oil and gas leasing and conducting a more robust analysis of air quality impacts.

Should H.R. 6547 pass, the BLM would be forced to disregard public comments on the draft plans, as well as comments from elected officials, municipalities, counties and the State of Colorado, in addition to feedback received through formal tribal consultation. The organizations who signed onto the opposition letter represent members and supporters who live near, recreate on, and enjoy and benefit from the public lands in the BLM’s Colorado River Valley and Grand Junction Field Offices. 

“About a quarter million acres in Eagle County are managed by the BLM. These public lands protect our wildlife, contribute to our world-class outdoor recreation experiences and help ensure our local economy thrives,” said Kathy Chandler-Henry, an Eagle County Commissioner. “Eagle County has appreciated the ability to weigh in on their management through the SEIS process. We ask that Congress allow the BLM to complete the process and finalize new management plans— our communities in Eagle County are counting on it.”

Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman testified before the committee in opposition to Rep. Boebert’s bill and in support of the BLM’s public process. A recording of the hearing is available online. 

“Throughout this entire plan revision, local communities have consistently engaged in the process and supported a more balanced and conservation minded approach,” said Will Roush, Executive Director at Wilderness Workshop, one of the signers of the letter. “With this legislation, Representative Boebert is trying to circumvent a court order and silence the voices of residents in western Colorado, including her own constituents in the Third Congressional District. We’re calling on the House Natural Resources Committee to reject this bill and allow the BLM to complete the process of finalizing new management plans for the region that reflect the values of local communities.”

The hearing comes as the U.S. House of Representatives considers another of Rep. Boebert’s bills, H.R. 6009, which would halt the BLM’s rulemaking to modernize its oil and gas leasing program. More than 100 local elected officials from across Colorado sent a letter in opposition to H.R. 6009, instead supporting the administration’s effort to update financial assurance requirements, increase royalty rates to make them more competitive with state rates, and allow the agency to more effectively manage what lands are available for future leasing. 

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Wilderness Workshop works across more than 4 million acres of public lands to ensure their ecological integrity. We have led efforts to designate more than half a million acres of Wilderness and hundreds of thousands of roadless areas in western Colorado. Learn more at WildernessWorkshop.org.

The Wilderness Society’s mission is uniting people to protect America’s wild places. Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect nearly 112 million acres of wilderness in 44 states. We have been at the forefront of nearly every major public lands victory. Learn more at wilderness.org.