The Bureau of Land Management manages 245 million acres of federal land, including 8.3 million acres in Colorado. Here in Delta County, these lands include Jumbo Mountain, Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area (NCA), Gunnison Gorge NCA, the Adobe Badlands, and more. Our region’s Uncompahgre Field Office, located in Montrose, oversees about 675,000 acres of public lands. Not only do these BLM lands serve important traditional purposes of mining, grazing, and energy development, but they also provide wild landscapes on which to recreate, sources for clean drinking water, dark skies to inspire awe and wonder, and unobstructed wildlife habitat for creatures to thrive.
In November 2025, Stevan Pearce was nominated by the Trump administration to be the next BLM Director. Pearce, a former New Mexico Republican Congressman and oil-industry executive, has a long history of advocating to sell off public lands, opposing national monuments, and shamelessly promoting oil and gas to dominate all other uses on our public lands. During Pearce’s tenure in political office, he:
- Opposed the designation of Organ-Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument in New Mexico, claiming that the monument, which fell in his district, was too large;
- Urged consideration of public land sales and expanded energy development as part of an effort to reduce the federal deficit, writing, “The federal government owns roughly 650 million acres of land. …Over 90% of this land is located in the western states and most of it we do not even need”;
- Introduced legislation that sought to nullify eight Wilderness Study Areas and mandate the disposal of more than 60,000 acres of BLM land;
- Co-sponsored the Hunting, Education, and Recreational Development (HEARD) Act, which proposed selling select federal public lands; and
- Voted for a bill aimed at restricting executive authorities to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906.
If Pearce’s deliberate exploitation and repeated attempts at disposal of public lands isn’t alarming enough, consider this: Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy contributes $65.8 billion in total economic output and generates $11.2 billion in tax revenue. Arguably, resource extraction on BLM lands can provide a temporary boom in the economy, but it depletes land and renders it useless for other purposes. Conversely, driven by the responsible use of public lands, the outdoor recreation industry contributes positive economic impacts that are increasing annually— without the negative consequences of oil and gas infrastructure to the landscape.
Why does this matter? The BLM director is responsible for balancing conservation of public lands with human use, such as resource extraction and cattle grazing. BLM lands are some of the most ecologically sensitive areas of the country that contain cultural, historical, scientific, and natural resources not found anywhere else. The agency is charged with setting policy direction that safeguards these assets and guides land-use planning for “multiple uses” as mandated by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. It’s a job that shapes our landscapes for generations to come.
Steve Pearce is not up to the task, evidenced by his track record. Senator John Hickenlooper stated in December 2025, “Americans deserve a BLM director who will be a true steward of the millions of acres under the agency’s care”, not an agency leader who manages according to the lopsided directive of “drill, baby, drill.” In our sensitive and diverse Western Colorado landscapes, this is not only desirable; it’s also necessary in implementing the mission of the BLM to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for present and future generations. A balanced, responsible approach to federal land management places conservation, ecosystem restoration, and recreation on equal footing with extractive uses such as fossil fuel development.
Fortunately, Colorado’s Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper have taken the unprecedented step of coming out in early opposition to Pearce’s nomination. A Senate hearing to accept or reject Pearce’s candidacy is expected to be held soon, in late January or early February.
Now is the time to take a stand and defend our public lands from the proven-hostile leadership of Steve Pearce. Contact your senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and encourage them to actively lobby their colleagues in Congress to vote no on Pearce’s nomination. Steve Pearce has championed resource extraction, fought to limit the expansion of national monuments in the American West, and advocated for public lands sell-off—he is a threat to the integrity and multiple use mandate of our BLM lands.
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