More than 120 elected officials, including representatives of Longmont and Boulder County, have called on the Biden administration to protect more Bureau of Land Management lands.
The Mountain Pact, an organization that works with local elected officials across the west, released a letter May 24 signed by 123 officials, including Longmont Mayor Joan Peck, Longmont Council Member Marcia Martin and Boulder County Commissioners Claire Levy and Matt Jones.
The letter, addressed to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland, asks that more BLM lands be protected as part of the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiative. The initiative is part of an effort to protect and conserve 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 in response to warnings from scientists, who say doing so could help preserve biodiversity and ecosystems while mitigating the impacts of climate change.
“Use your authority to advance conservation across the West, by using all of the conservation tools at your disposal,” the letter said. “Some conservation designations we recommend utilizing include: Backcountry Conservation Areas; Wilderness Study Areas; Areas of Critical Environmental Concern; and working with The White House to designate national monuments through the use of the Antiquities Act.”
In Colorado, BLM lands make up a third of federal public lands in the state, but only 8% of those lands are protected. Nationally, 14% of BLM lands are permanently protected.
“As a result, many of the areas important to Westerners and visitors are at risk of being unnecessarily degraded or lost,” said Anna Peterson, executive director of the Mountain Pact, in a release. “It’s time for action — the administration should do more to protect more of these lands and waters, and in turn, our communities.”
Lands highlighted for protection in the letter include the Vermillion Basin in Colorado, Granite Range in Nevada, Bodie Hills in California, Hatch Canyon in Utah, Otero Mesa in New Mexico and the Owyhee Canyonlands in Oregon.
