Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Colorado's newest congressman wants to reopen public lands to drilling
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Thursday, March 13, 2025
Pronghorn at Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area in western Colorado. Bob Wick/BLM ([link removed])
A new bill introduced by Colorado ([link removed]) Representative Jeff Hurd ([link removed]) , would reopen national public lands across Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, and Montana to energy development and reduce protections for wildlife habitat. The Productive Public Lands Act ([link removed]) would revoke new Resource Management Plans that determine how millions of acres of public land are managed. The bill mandates ([link removed]) that the Bureau of Land Management either create new plans that are friendlier to oil and gas development, or revert to previous outdated management plans. It would also reverse new protections for Gunnison sage-grouse and big game habitat.
In his first two months in Congress ([link removed]) , Hurd has also sponsored a bill that would move the BLM headquarters to Grand Junction, co-sponsored a bill that would remove the president’s power to establish national monuments via the Antiquities Act, and co-sponsored another bill to rescind the Public Lands Rule that balances conservation with other uses of BLM lands.
“For a brand-new member of Congress, you'd hope Jeff Hurd would spend more time listening to his constituents. This bill would undermine the years of work that communities across Colorado have spent building an outdoor recreation economy,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) . “This bill ignores Colorado voters, who overwhelmingly want their member of Congress to protect clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat instead of maximizing oil and gas drilling.”
According to the 2025 Conservation in the West poll ([link removed]) , over 70 percent of voters in eight Western states prefer their leaders in Congress prioritize conservation and recreation on public lands rather than energy production.
Podcast: How nature makes us feel happier, healthier, and more connected to humanity
This week on The Landscape ([link removed]) , we take a break from bad news to talk about what nature does to your brain. Kate and Aaron speak to author Florence Williams ([link removed]) about her book, The Nature Fix ([link removed]) , which came out in 2017 but is just as relevant today. Her book looks at the science behind why nature makes us feel happier, healthier, and more connected to humanity. Qualities we could all probably use a bit more of these days.
** Quick hits
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Burgum says public lands are ‘national assets’
Reuters ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Trump firings may weaken life-saving avalanche forecasts in Colorado and the West
Associated Press ([link removed])
Colorado Congressman Jeff Hurd wants to reopen federal lands across the West to drilling, mining
Denver Post ([link removed]) | Colorado Politics ([link removed]) | The Land Desk ([link removed])
Fired public land employees tell their stories
Field & Stream ([link removed])
Oil and gas executives roll back green energy pledges
Washington Post ([link removed])
Federal funding pause includes 17 water projects on Colorado's Western Slope
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed][…]ern-slope/article_a8d9c474-f97c-11ef-9e7f-cb42884e7b1b.html) | Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Public lands advocates worry DOGE cuts are precursor to privatization
Arizona Republic ([link removed])
Devils Tower National Monument slashes hours without explanation
WyoFile ([link removed]) | KOTA ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” If you were trying to destroy an agency's ability to function and you purposely were wanting to make them fail, this is what you would do. You would create these kinds of hardships, then you can blame the agency for not doing a good job.”
—Bobbie Scopa, board member of the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters advocacy group, Arizona Republic ([link removed])
** Picture This
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[link removed]
@utahpubliclands ([link removed])
Happy Anniversary to the Dingell Act!
Passed in 2019, the bipartisan John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act made lasting impacts on public land designations.
It created two areas designated for recreation:
⛺San Rafael Swell Recreation Area
🚲McCoy Flats Trail System
Plus, it created several National Conservation Lands designations:
🦖Jurassic National Monument
📸John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area
🛶Green River National Wild and Scenic River
🦌17 Wilderness Areas
It also dictated multiple land conveyances and exchanges, including the recently-signed Emery County Lands Exchange. This was Utah's largest federal land exchange with the state, swapping lands of productive value to the State of Utah in exchange for areas within these new designated recreation and conservation areas. It was made possible through years of collaboration among local communities, the State of Utah, and Utah’s congressional delegation, including , @senjohncurtis ([link removed]) who helped see the process through to completion.
Photo: McCoy Flats
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