Hickenlooper Slams Trump’s Rollback of Public Lands Rule

Hickenlooper: "This rollback is a blatant attack against the long-term health of our public lands."

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement criticizing the Trump administration's decision to rescind the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Public Lands Rule, which made conservation an equal priority with other uses - like mining and grazing - on public lands.

"This rollback is a blatant attack against the long-term health of our public lands. It is a slap in the face of participatory democracy!

"The West is drying up before us, and the Trump administration wants to undo these protections anyway.

"They tried to sell off public lands last year, and now they're back, stripping protections and betting we won't push back.

"They're wrong. Out West, stewardship is a way of life. We'll fight tooth and nail to protect it."

Specifically, the Public Lands Rule provides the BLM with modern, science-based tools needed to protect the more than 245 million acres of public lands, including 8.3 million acres in Colorado, that the agency manages. The rule helps BLM restore degraded landscapes, conserve intact habitats, plan for responsible development, and protect cultural and natural resources.

When the Trump administration first announced plans in 2025 to rescind the rule, Hickenlooper and Representative Jared Huffman led 59 of their congressional colleagues to demand the Trump administration protect public lands and end its plans to overturn the rule. Hickenlooper supported the creation of the BLM rule in 2024 and worked with DOI and BLM to make sure stakeholders such as grazers, Tribes, and the renewables industry were included in the conversation as the rule was finalized.

The Trump administration's decision to rescind the Public Lands Rule follows their consistent efforts to undermine our public lands and national parks. Last summer Democrats defeated congressional Republicans' last-ditch effort to sell off millions of acres of public lands to pay for their tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

In their letter, the lawmakers highlighted the broad public support for the BLM rule when it was originally proposed. Roughly 92% of the more than 150,000 comments submitted were in support and numerous local and state officials, Tribal governments, scientists, businesses, and other stakeholders throughout the West advocated for the rule.

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