Rep. Boebert Fights Latest Colorado Landgrab
Today, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert led a letter with strong support to Joe Biden defending her District from yet another landgrab proposed by Colorado Democrats.
Rep. Lauren Boebert said, “For more than a decade, the CORE Act landgrab has failed to get the support necessary to be signed into law. These defeats have occurred despite proponents changing the name of the bill and Democrats even controlling the House, Senate, and Presidency. Because they have failed to pass a flawed bill into law, extremist environmentalists and out-of-touch Colorado politicians are now asking Biden to circumvent the will of the American people and Congress to lock up hundreds of thousands of acres in Colorado through the stroke of his pen. Local stakeholders have come out in strong opposition to this landgrab as this unilateral designation will kill jobs, harm private water rights, prevent responsible energy production, stop active forest management that will reduce wildfires, and prohibit critical minerals exploration. While proponents of this landgrab talk a good game and have tried to pull the wool over our eyes, at the end of the day, our communities will suffer if Biden capitulates to extremists and locks up our land.”
Rep. Doug Lamborn stated, “The most recent attempt to force a massive land grab on the citizens of Colorado by Presidential fiat is extremely troubling. These restrictive land designations have been consistently rejected year after year by Congress and by the local communities most impacted. Instead of calling on President Biden to use the outdated 1906 Antiquities Act in an attempt to silence the opposition, my Colorado colleagues should work to address the concerns of local stakeholders. Our nation’s public resources are best managed when the people that use those lands are intimately involved in the process, not shutout.”
Rep. Ken Buck stated, “This extreme overreach is another example of the Biden administration abusing its power to seize vast land resources for the radical Green New Deal. Colorado is ‘God’s Country,’ and we have an honored history of protecting our national treasures. I’m proud to join Rep. Boebert’s letter to preserve our local lands and water from this dangerous land grab that puts Coloradans last and left-wing radicals first.”
Rep. Troy Nehls said, “At a time with record inflation and high gas prices, the Biden Administration should be expanding access for our domestic energy producers and miners, not stifling them at every turn. Congress has repeatedly chosen not to pass the CORE Act, and this unilateral attempt to lock up more land hurts our farmers, ranchers, and energy producers. The ramifications of this misguided policy will be felt by all Americans.”
Garrett Bess, Vice President of Heritage Action said, "Instead of trying to federalize more land in Colorado, President Biden should focus on solving the many crises that its policies have created. The American people want the federal government to focus on fighting inflation, securing the border, and reducing crime. Instead, the Biden administration is working on giveaways to left-wing environmental groups that will damage the Colorado economy. We applaud Representative Boebert for fighting back on behalf of her constituents.”
President of Americans for Limited Government Richard Manning stated, “At a time when Europe is facing energy extortion at the hands of the Putin regime in Russia, it is incumbent upon America to rise to the challenge by increasing our ability to provide replacement natural gas. To arbitrarily cut-off potential future energy exploration and reserves in what would be little more than an unwarranted, extra-legal land grab further reduces our energy independence moving forward, putting America on the road to the same energy extortion that Europe faces today. President Biden should reject this radical federal government land take-over which has repeatedly been rejected by Congress.”
President and Founder of the New Mexico Business Coalition Carla J. Sonntag said, “New Mexico Business Coalition represents hundreds of businesses and thousands of New Mexicans who strongly oppose any attempt by the Biden administration to take control of land and/or waterways in the southwestern states under the Antiquities Act. The federal government already owns nearly half of all land in New Mexico and yet has recently taken control of more land and waterways to include 500,000 acres in the Organ Mountains, 240,000 acres in the Valles Caldera, and 89,000 acres in the Rio Grande Del Norte. In addition, regulations and restrictions by federal environmental and land management agencies have become increasingly burdensome for industries such as agriculture, energy, and other businesses. This costs states revenue and jobs, which is the last thing we need as we face unprecedented inflation and impending recession.”
The Colorado Off-highway Vehicle Coalition, Colorado Snowmobile Association, Trail Preservation Alliance, United Snowmobile Alliance of America, Off-Road Business Association, United 4-Wheel Drive Associations, and One Voice stated, “The motorized community is very disappointed that after years of discussions, the advocates for the CORE Proposal have decided to pursue unilateral designations for areas under the Antiquities Act. These designations would have severe impacts on public access to lands for recreational usage into the future. This type of unilateral action also undermines the collaborative spirit in resolving all types of challenges that Colorado has been a leader in fostering and was exemplified by the Hermosa Watershed Legislation that was passed with bipartisan support in 2014.”
Background:
Recently, extremist environmentalists and Colorado Democrats have tried to convince Biden to unilaterally lock up hundreds of thousands of acres in Colorado through the outdated 1906 Antiquities Act. They have no regard for what this will do to jobs in rural Colorado, and they clearly do not care about how much more difficult this proposed initiative will make it for constituents to make a living and provide for their families.
As the Washington Post reports, Biden is considering unilaterally locking up more than 200,000 acres in the coming weeks to potentially help Michael Bennet in his U.S. Senate race. This would be the first of likely many new Biden land grabs utilizing the outdated 1906 Antiquities Act.
The Biden administration has already shown its willingness to implement federal landgrabs as evidenced by their actions on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah which undid President Trump’s right-sizing of these monuments and subsequently unilaterally expanded these Obama land grabs. When Biden was Vice President, his administration unilaterally designated or expanded 34 national monuments, locking up a staggering 553,550,000 acres of land and water.
Signers of Congresswoman Boebert’s letter include: Reps. Lauren Boebert (CO-03), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Ken Buck (CO-04), Byron Donalds (FL-19), Russ Fulcher (ID-01), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Scott Perry (PA-10), and Adrian Smith (NE-03).
Groups supporting Congresswoman Boebert’s letter include: American Energy Alliance, Americans for Limited Government, Arrowhead Snowmobile Club, Becky Norton Dunlop, Former Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife Service (1988-1989), BlueRibbon Coalition / Sharetrails, Buena Vista Snowdrifters, Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties, Colorado Blizzards, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Livestock Association, Colorado Off-highway Vehicle Coalition, Colorado Oil & Gas Association, Colorado Snowmobile Association, Colorado Wool Growers Association, Conservatives for Property Rights, enCore Energy, Flattoppers Snowmobile Club, Gunnison County SnoTrackers, Heritage Action for America, Holy Cross Powder Hounds, Huerfano County Commissioner John Galusha, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Lake City Continental Divide Club, Midvalley Snowmobile Club, Mineral County Colorado, New Mexico Business Coalition, New Mexico Federal Lands Council, North Park Snow Snakes, Off-Road Business Association, One Voice, Pikes Peak High Riders, Platoro West Inc., Prime Fuels Corp., Protect Americans Now, Rifle Snowmobile Club, Rio Grande County Commissioner Gene Glover, Routt Powder Riders, S&W Adventure Riders, Sabre Gold, San Juan Sledders Snowmobile Club, Sangre Snowrunners Snowmobile Club, SnowCountry Explorers, Summit Snow Riderz, The Energy Council, Trail Preservation Alliance, Uncompahgre Valley Trail Riders, United 4-Wheel Drive Associations, United Snowmobile Alliance of America, West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas, White River Snowmobile Club, and Wolf Creek Trailblazers.
The full text of Congresswoman Boebert’s letter is available here and below:
We write with grave concern regarding new efforts to unilaterally impose severe land-use restrictions on the people of Colorado and across the American West. For years, partisan big-city Democrats – with the full backing and support of the far-Left green energy cartel – have attempted to implement massive new land grabs through the so-called Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act. The CORE Act land grab seeks to impose increased land restrictions on nearly 400,000 acres, 73,000 acres of which would be designated as new wilderness and close numerous forms of outdoor recreation and multiple-use, exacerbating wildfires in the process.
Year after year, efforts to pass the CORE Act through the Congress have failed. For the last several years, House Democrats have attached the CORE Act to the National Defense Authorization Act – a completely unrelated piece of legislation. As those efforts have also (predictably) failed, radical Colorado Democrats are now calling on you to weaponize the Antiquities Act – an outdated 1906 law that permits the President to designate certain lands as national historic monuments – and apply it to key provisions of the CORE Act. We urge you to reject this overreach and request for unilateral use of executive power. There is no compelling reason why local opposition and the United States Congress should be ignored or undermined, particularly as CORE Act proponents have not been able to get their egregious bill and related provisions signed into law after more than a decade.
Given the challenges on the Colorado River, now is certainly not the time to be trampling on and usurping private water rights, and there are significant water rights that could be negatively impacted through an Antiquities Act designation in the requested areas.
Without local buy-in, any designation of land under the Antiquities Act will be subject to considerable controversy, as well as never-ending litigation. We’ve seen what happened with Bears Ears in Utah – when the Trump Administration right-sized it, and your administration reinstated this massive land grab. When the Antiquities Act is used as a workaround to the Congress and the will of the American people, the accompanying land designation rarely receives public support.
Stakeholders who have formally objected over the years to legislation containing CORE Act provisions and/or the use of the Antiquities Act to implement key provisions of the CORE Act include: American Energy Alliance, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Forests Resource Council, Americans for Limited Government, American Loggers Council, Archuleta County (Colorado), Arizona Cattle Growers Association, Arizona Farm Bureau, Arizona Power Authority, Arrowhead Snowmobile Club, Becky Norton Dunlop, Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior (1988-1989), BlueRibbon Coalition / Sharetrails, Buena Vista Snowdrifters, California Farm Bureau, Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy & Environment, Cheyenne County (Colorado), Coalition of AZ/NM Counties, Colorado Blizzards, Colorado Consulting Foresters, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Livestock Association, Colorado Oil & Gas Association, Colorado Snowmobile Association, Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition, Colorado Wool Growers Association, Conservatives for Property Rights, Dolores County (Colorado), Douglas Creek Conservation District, enCore Energy, The Energy Council, Federal Forests Resource Coalition, Flattoppers Snowmobile Club, Freemont County (Colorado), Gene Glover, County Commissioner of Rio Grande County (Colorado), Golden Vertex Corp., Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, Grant County Cattle Growers Association (New Mexico), Gunnison County SnoTrackers, Heritage Action for America, Holy Cross Powder Hounds, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Industrial Minerals Association – North America, Lake City Continental Divide Club, Less Government, John Galusha, County Commissioner of Huerfano County (Colorado), Mesa County (Colorado), Midvalley Snowmobile Club, Mineral County (Colorado), Montezuma County (Colorado), National Mining Association, National Stone Sand and Gravel Association, New Mexico Business Coalition, New Mexico Federal Lands Council, North Park Snow Snakes, Off-Road Business Association, One Voice, Pikes Peak High Riders, Platoro West Inc., Prime Fuels Corp., Protect Americans Now, Public Lands Council, Public Lands for the People, Rifle Snowmobile Club, Routt Powder Riders, Sabre Gold, Sangre Snowrunners Snowmobile Club, San Juan Sledders Snowmobile Club, S&W Adventure Riders, San Juan Trail Riders, Snow Country Explorers, Summit Snow Riderz, Trails Preservation Alliance (Colorado), Uncompahgre Valley Trail Riders, United 4-Wheel Drive Association, United Snowmobile Alliance of America, Washington Farm Bureau, West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association, Western Energy Alliance, White River Conservation District, White River Snowmobile Club, Wolf Creek Trailblazers, and Yavapai County Cattle Growers.
While Camp Hale and our servicemembers that were stationed there made important contributions to World War II, we don’t support the efforts of extremist environmentalists who are seeking to hijack this historic place to create a new land designation – a designation that literally does not exist – to prohibit timber harvesting and mining on nearly 30,000 acres of land.
A second request made by our colleagues could permanently withdraw 200,000 acres of land in the Thompson Divide – an area blessed with an abundance of natural gas deposits – from energy exploration. Notwithstanding the fact that natural gas prices have surged to a 14-year high, this request is a solution in search of a problem since the area of controversy has already been administratively withdrawn.
The Antiquities Act specifies that national monuments designated under this authority are done so under “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Unilaterally locking up hundreds of thousands of acres through the stroke of a pen to appease extremists is not consistent with this requirement. We urge you not to usurp the Democratic process and allow the CORE Act to stand or fall on its own merits in the Congress of the United States.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03)
Congressman Andy Biggs (AZ-05)
Congressman Ken Buck (CO-04)
Congressman Byron Donalds (FL-19)
Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01)
Congressman Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-04)
Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
Congressman Troy Nehls (TX-22)
Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10)
Congressman Adrian Smith (NE-03)