Letter to Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States - Rep. Boebert Fights Latest Colorado Landgrab

Letter

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also (predictably) failed, radical Colorado Democrats are now calling on you to weaponize the Antiquities Act -- an outdated 1906 law that permits the President to designate certain lands as national historic monuments -- and apply it to key provisions of the CORE Act.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,