Park County Opposes Transfer of America's Public Lands to the State

News for Immediate Release
March 17, 2016
Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Park County Opposes Transfer of America's Public Lands to the State
This is the eighth Colorado county to pass a resolution opposing public land transfers that would block sportsmen’s access

FAIRPLAY, Colo. – Today, the Board of Park County Commissioners passed a resolution opposing the effort to transfer or sell national public lands to the state of Colorado or local governments. This decision supports every American’s ability to hunt, fish, and recreate on public lands and underscores the conservation legacy of leaders like Theodore Roosevelt, who helped create a public lands system that is the envy of the world.

The county’s resolution recognizes the importance of public lands for:

• Providing fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation—including hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife-watching, horseback riding, and bicycling—that is essential to residents’ quality of life.
• Attracting outdoor recreation tourism that drives local spending and employs hundreds of county residents.
• Preserving historically significant and irreplaceable cultural sites and landscapes.

“Park County is cherished for its top-notch fisheries, beautiful open landscapes, and exceptional wildlife habitat,” says Nick Payne, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership's Colorado field representative. “There’s no doubt that the county is doing the right thing for its residents, and all Americans, by supporting one of our nation’s greatest treasures—our public lands.”

The resolution is only the most recent indication of the Park County Commissioners’ dedication to public lands and real land management solutions. Park County has also been at the table with a wide range of stakeholder groups involved in developing a master leasing plan that ensures the Bureau of Land Management develops oil and gas resources responsibly.

“This resolution highlights the immeasurable value of these lands to the county—the same value that has driven a real spirit of collaboration around the master leasing plan process,” says Suzanne O’Neill,executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation. “We're pleased to see the BLM initiate the next step in that process this summer and have this serve as a model for others to adapt.”

Currently, Park County joins seven other Colorado counties that have formally opposed the seizure of BLM and National Forest lands, but three counties have made moves in favor of the idea. In the Four Corners region, the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners has been outspoken in their support for land transfer and even made a $1,000 donation—on behalf of county taxpayers—to the American Lands Council, an organization dedicated to the disposal of America’s public lands, in 2015.

Today, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and 12 other hunting and fishing organizations and businesses sent a letter to Montezuma County Commissionersasking them to reverse their position on the idea of national public land transfer, which threatens the future of sportmen's access in Colorado and across the country.

“My business in Cortez provides gear for outdoor enthusiasts who rely on public lands,” says Heather Mobley, co-owner of Colorado Love Outdoors, one of the businesses behind the letter. “It makes me cringe to think that taxpayer dollars have been spent on the effort to dismantle those lands and opportunities—they are critical to my business and our local way of life.”

“Most mule deer hunters rely on public lands, but beyond that, this bad idea threatens the habitat that is critical to mule deer populations already declining across the West—the state doesn’t have the resources to manage these areas or protect them from wildfire,” says Scott Hampel, director of Colorado operations with the Muley Fanatic Foundation. “Opportunities for the average hunter will be diminished if the habitat suffers and access is eventually sold off or privatized.”

A growing number of Western counties in states like Wyoming and Arizonahave recently taken formal positions to oppose the sale or seizure of America's public lands. To learn more or take action, visit sportsmensaccess.org.

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Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing. Ensuring sportsmen’s access to quality fish and wildlife habitat safeguards the $646- billion contribution that sportsmen make to the American economy.