Colorado Wildlands Project

Launched in 2021, the Colorado Wildlands Project works to protect wild public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Fiscally sponsored by Wilderness Workshop and partnering strategically with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), we champion conservation, climate resilience and the equitable management of public lands. Focused on western Colorado, we collaborate with partners across the Colorado Plateau to rally support for lasting wildland protection.

Colorado’s 8.3 million acres of BLM-administered public lands make up one third of the federal public lands in our state, yet only 8% of these lands are permanently protected through conservation designations, dramatically less than other public lands in the state. Colorado’s at-risk BLM wildlands include a half-million acres of Wilderness Study Areas and over two million acres of additional wilderness-quality lands meriting wilderness designation or other permanent conservation measures.

These diverse lands include the stunning redrock of the Dolores River, the sandstone canyons and rolling sagebrush steppe of the Dinosaur region, and some of Colorado’s most important wildlife habitat such as that found in Grand Junction’s Book Cliffs. In addition to BLM public lands being underrepresented in the conservation system, these lands are critical for climate adaptation and ecosystem resilience.

As pressures intensify to mine, drill and even eliminate public lands, the Colorado Wildlands Project is committed to defending BLM wildlands from these threats. In the coming years, we will stand against efforts to carve up, exploit, or liquidate our shared landscapes, ensuring that western Colorado’s wild places remain intact for future generations. Through strategic advocacy, coalition-building and grassroots engagement, we will push back against extractive interests and champion lasting protections that safeguard nature, climate resilience and the public’s right to enjoy these lands.

Find out more at www.cowildlands.org