A group of state legislators is sending a joint resolution to Colorado’s congressional delegation, urging members to ensure that public lands remain under the stewardship of the federal government. 

The resolution didn’t specify the instances that the public lands would fall in private hands, though it said there are “misguided attempts to seize control of vast acreage of national public lands from the American public and to force their disposal through litigation and legislation.”

The resolution called the attempts to seize national public lands “inconsistent with the values and interests of Coloradans.”

Colorado’s public lands have a substantial impact on the state’s economy through mineral extraction, timber sales, ranching, tourism, and the outdoor recreation industry, the latter of which contributed over $17 billion to Colorado’s economy in 2023, supplying more than 132,000 jobs, according to the resolution. 

The public lands in Colorado are “the heart and soul of what it means to be a Coloradan,” said House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. “When we look at the importance of public lands to our economy, to our communities, and to what it means to be a healthy, vibrant human being on this planet, we know that public lands are an important part of that equation.” 

McCluskie noted a previous effort to preserve Colorado’s public lands via the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act. The bill, which was introduced in Congress in 2018 by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and then-U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, sought to protect some 420,000 acres of Colorado’s public lands, including parts of the San Juan Mountains, Continental Divide, Thompson Divide, and Curecanti National Recreation Area. 

In 2022, President Joe Biden designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Eagle County, which includes some of the land covered in the CORE ACT.

McCluskie said much work remains.

“That community effort, that grassroots effort to try to protect our lands, is something that we need to elevate and capture today, because for all that we recognize in the importance of public lands, we cannot stand idly by and let those lands be taken from us for any other purpose, and that is why Senate Joint Resolution Nine is so important,” McCluskie said. 

The resolution passed unanimously and will be read in the House before being sent to Colorado’s 10 U.S. senators and representatives. It is sponsored by Sens. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, and Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction, and McCluskie.