Hunter and angler groups are urging candidates to protect publicly owned lands. (Pixabay)

DENVER – As the Bureau of Land Management considers allowing oil and gas production near Rocky Mountain National Park, 40 outdoors organizations from across the country released a letter today asking all presidential candidates to support publicly owned lands.



Suzanne O'Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation, says federal lands are a big part of Colorado's identity.



"We absolutely need to hang onto our public lands,” she stresses. “For quality of life, economic contributions and to safeguard our wildlife."



O'Neill points out hunters and anglers rely on national lands, and notes outdoor recreation contributes more than $34 billion to Colorado's economy.



Proponents for transferring public lands to states point to poor federal management.



The State Forest Management Act, which would allow states to take over up to 2 million acres of national forest land, has cleared committee and could be heard by the U.S. House of Representatives this session.



Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, is hopeful candidates will stand up for lands set aside by Republicans and Democrats over many generations.



"Frankly, one of the challenges that we face is that over the past few years, because of budget cuts and staffing cuts and things like that, there have been fewer resources going into the management of these lands, and I think that's led to some frustration," he states.



O'Neill agrees, and argues that Colorado doesn't have the resources to manage the state's more than 66 million acres of national lands.



"The result would be higher access fees for the lands, and then also that some of the lands – and who knows which ones – would be sold off to raise money to manage the rest of the portfolio," she states.



O'Neill adds the biggest threat to public lands could be lack of awareness. She says if people don't know about legislative efforts to take away lands owned by all Americans, those measures are more likely to succeed.





