Colorado’s freshmen Republican congressmen aren’t wasting any time to reverse Biden’s land lockups that blocked recreation access and energy development on public lands.
The Western Slope’s U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd introduced a bill this week to return the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) role to its original purpose.
That means managing our land for the public’s use and enjoyment, not setting it aside as a trophy for special interest Democrat organizations fronted by environmentalists to use as fundraising tools.
“This bill would force the Bureau of Land Management to reissue nine Biden-era Resource Management Plans (RMPs) which locked up access to viable lands throughout Colorado and the West,” said Hurd, who is vice chair of the Congressional Western Caucus.
Reissuing those plans will put us back on the path to energy dominance allowing for a more secure and prosperous country, Hurd said.
The measure is co-sponsored by fellow Republican US. Rep. Gabe Evans who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa says the Biden administration was hell-bent on locking up public lands and threatening the prosperity of rural economies across the country.
“Fortunately, a new era has dawned, and we have the opportunity to reverse these lockups and re-instate the multiple-use mandate on America’s public lands,” LaMalfa said.
The Productive Public Lands Act will open the public’s land for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, drilling, and mining.
The Denver Post whines that 175 million acres should remain off limits to human use as a permanent reservation for the sage grouse whenever and wherever it deigns to rest its feathers.
We support all species, including mankind. But none of us need 175 million acres all to ourselves to survive.
As Hurd’s office told the Post, the public land restrictions are completely unreasonable
Not surprising, the Wilderness Society reacted to reopening public lands to the public as “adversarial.”
Today, I introduced the Productive Public Lands Act to unlock responsible resource development on some of our most productive lands. 🇺🇸
✅ Has the BLM reissue nine Biden-era Resource Management Plans
✅ Furthers American energy dominance
✅ Works to save you at the gas pump,… pic.twitter.com/5EZ6s5VMZ2— Rep. Jeff Hurd (@RepJeffHurd) March 11, 2025