- Before becoming a congressman, Hurd advocated for local control of land management, but after getting elected he wrote a bill that would impose a top-down approach over the carefully crafted, locally created plans that had been made over the span of a decade.
- Hurd floated the idea of reopening the Thompson Divide to mining and energy leases after it was recently protected following decades of advocacy from environmental, ranching, and recreational groups.
¶ Hurd Could Not Be Trusted To Ensure Coloradans Had A Say In How Public Lands Were Managed
¶ Hurd Introduced The Productive Public Lands Act, Which Would Centralize Power Over Resource Management Plans Instead Of Using Existing Plans That Were Extensively Consulted On By Local Coloradans
¶ Hurd Advocated For “Local Control” Of Land Management Shortly After Being Elected
Hurd Had Firmly Advocated For “Local Control” When Talking About Moving The Bureau Of Land Management Headquarters Back To Grand Junction. According to Colorado Times Recorder, “Newly elected Congressman Jeff Hurd was firmly behind the idea of ‘local control’ when he talked about moving the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) headquarters back to Grand Junction in November. He said the move would ‘better engage local stakeholders … [and] improve accountability when it comes to land management decisions.’” [Colorado Times Recorder, 6/16/25]
¶ Four Months After Getting Elected, Hurd Introduced The “Productive Public Lands Act,” Which Would Have The Bureau Of Land Management Replace Locally Crafted Land Management Plans With Federally Mandated Old Ones
Hurd Introduced The Productive Public Lands Act, Which Would Have The Bureau Of Land Management Replace Existing Management Plans For Land-Use With New, Top-Down Mandates. According to Colorado Times Recorder, "But four months later, Hurd turned around and introduced a bill that trashed decades of work at the local level in Colorado and handed Washington, D.C. the keys to a kingdom of over 2.3 million acres of federal land in Colorado. The Productive Public Lands Act (PPLA), which Hurd introduced in March, singles out nine federal land Resource Management Plans (RMPs) currently approved and being used by the BLM to make land-use decisions. Five of the nine plans are in Colorado. The Productive Public Lands Act (PPLA), which Hurd introduced in March, singles out nine federal land Resource Management Plans (RMPs) currently approved and being used by the BLM to make land-use decisions. Five of the nine plans are in Colorado. The PPLA directs the BLM to ‘replace’ the existing carefully-crafted plans with ‘alternatives’ that will return land-use priorities to those expounded in the 1976 law known as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)." [Colorado Times Recorder, 6/16/25]
The Current Land-Use Plans Were Carefully Crafted Over More Than A Decade With Stakeholders Throughout The District, Dozens Of Whom Reacted With Shock And Outrage At The Introduction of Hurd’s Bill. According to Colorado Times Recorder, "John Stukowski, Co-Executive Director for Wild Connections, explained that he was part of the stakeholder group that worked with local BLM on the RMP for Eastern Colorado. The group labored fully eleven years until the plan was approved. That approval just happened to occur while President Joe Biden was in office, he explained, but the development took place under three administrations (Obama, Trump, Biden) and had little to do with who was in office. ‘We started on the plan in 2013,’ said Stukowski. ‘We thought it would be approved when Trump was still in office [in his first term].’ But there were complications in the drafting, and the plan took longer. Which is why it was approved during Biden’s presidency. Crafting an RMP is the definition of sausage-making. Stakeholders from recreation, hunting and fishing, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, wildlife conservationists, and tribal lands — are all represented and have a seat at the table. […] It’s no wonder that stakeholders, county commissioners, and conservationists hammered plans into shape over decades. And it’s no wonder that the PPLA’s introduction was met with stunned shock and outrage by dozens of organizations and politicians." [Colorado Times Recorder, 6/16/25]
- Matt Salka, La Plata County Commissioner Said Hurd’s “Productive Public Land Act” Was A “Top-Down Mandate From Washington.” According to Colorado Times Recorder, "‘This isn’t local control, this is political override,’ protested Matt Salka, La Plata County Commissioner, in the Durango Herald last Sunday. ‘[Hurd] is replacing [RMPs] with a top-down mandate from Washington.’" [Colorado Times Recorder, 6/16/25]
- Keeley Meehan, Policy Director Of The Colorado Wildlands Project Said Hurd’s “Productive Public Land Act” Would “Create Unnecessary Confusion” And “Sideline Local Voices.” According to Colorado Times Recorder, "‘This legislation would force land management back into outdated frameworks – some nearly 40 years old,’ said Keeley Meehan, Policy Director of the Colorado Wildlands Project. ‘It would create unnecessary confusion for already overstretched land managers and sideline the local voices that have been central to shaping current plans.’" [Colorado Times Recorder, 6/16/25]
- Democratic Opponents Speculated Hurd’s Motivation For The Bill Was “Straight Out Of Heritage Foundation’s Extremist Project 2025 Playbook.” According to Colorado Times Recorder, "So what’s it really about? Hurd’s office ignored repeated requests for comment, but Democratic challenger Alex Kelloff thinks he knows: ‘Congressman Hurd’s so-called Productive Public Lands Act isn’t about helping Western Colorado at all – it’s straight out of Heritage Foundation’s extremist Project 2025 playbook, just see page 523.’ Indeed, the relevant section of Project 2025 reads: ‘Review all resource management plans finalized in the previous four years and … restore the multi-use concept enshrined in [the 1976 law] FLPMA.’" [Colorado Times Recorder, 6/16/25]
¶ Hurd Floated opening the thompson divide for new energy and mineral leases even though it was recently protected from such activity
Hurd Said He Wanted To Look At Mineral And Energy Leases In The Thompson Divide.. According to Durango Herald, "Hurd said he wants to take a closer look at the impact of repealing Biden's withdrawal of mineral and energy leases in the 221,000-acre Thompson Divide, which is another suggestion offered in the Project 2025 document. ‘I think there is a way to balance environmental stewardship and responsible energy development,’ said Hurd, a regulatory law attorney who focused on rural electric cooperatives, telecommunications providers and other businesses dealing with complex regulations. ‘We need to support energy security but we also need to make sure we account for local input and for conservation.’" [Durango Herald, 11/22/24]
- 2024: 221,898 Acres Of Forest Services And Bureau Of Land Management Land In The Thompson Divide Was Protected From Mining And Energy Development For 20 Years After Environmental, Ranching, And Recreational Groups Spent Several Decades Working To Protect It. According to the Colorado Sun, "A decadeslong fight to halt extractive industry in the Thompson Divide won a decisive victory Wednesday as the Biden administration removed nearly a quarter-million acres of federal land across three Colorado counties from mining and energy development for the next two decades. The 20-year withdrawal of 221,898 acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in the Thompson Divide from south of Glenwood Springs to Crested Butte is part of a promise made by President Joe Biden when he designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument on Tennessee Pass in 2022. Environmental, ranching and recreational groups have spent several decades working to protect the Thompson Divide, which offers a critical migration corridor to wildlife and ranks as one of the most important, unbroken ecosystems in Colorado." [Colorado Sun, 4/3/24]
- The Withdrawal Did Not Affect Existing Leases On The Thompson Divide. According to the Colorado Sun, "The withdrawal does not affect existing leases in the Thompson Divide, which include 11 leases for Wolf Creek Storage Field in the White River National Forest in the Roaring Fork Valley that allows Black Hills Energy to store pressurized natural gas in an underground storage facility first drilled in the 1960s. In the past 20 years, there have been three wells drilled in the Thompson Divide, all part of the Wolf Creek Storage Field project." [Colorado Sun, 4/3/24]