Western mountain communities are inextricably linked to the federal public lands that surround them and the thriving $887 billion outdoor recreation and tourism economies. Common sense stewardship of our federal public lands is critical to these mountain communities.

Unfortunately, the previous presidential administration had a laser focus on expanding fossil fuel production on federal public lands and either weakening or reducing environmental regulations designed to protect the environment as well as public health and safety. Between 2017 and 2020, the Trump administration rolled back almost 100 clear air, water, wildlife, and toxic chemical regulations; leased millions of acres of federal land for oil and gas drilling; and reduced the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments by almost 50 percent and more than 85 percent, respectively. You can read more about the impacts of the former administration’s policies on mountain communities here.

The current administration’s public lands conservation and climate crisis agenda includes restoring protections for federal public lands and protecting sacred sites, and public lands and waters that have high conservation and cultural values. Upon taking office, President Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and signed several historic executive orders aimed at tackling the climate crisis, which included directing the Department of Interior to pause new oil and gas leasing on federal public land and unveiling the America the Beautiful initiative, which includes the goal of protecting 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 to combat the twin threats of the loss of biodiversity and climate change. He also launched a review of his predecessor’s downsizing of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments,which set the stage for his decision to restore the boundaries of Bears Ears to 1.36 million acres, and Grand Staircase to 1.87 million acres.

President Biden also signed into law the single biggest U.S. investment to tackle climate change - ever - the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

On October 12, 2022 President Biden designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. And on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at the Conservation in Action Summit in Washington, D.C., President Biden designated Avi Kwa Ame in southern Nevada and Castner Range in west Texas as national monuments. Most recently, he designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints Grand Canyon National Monument on August 8, 2023. This came two weeks after he designated the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument with sites in Illinois and Mississippi on July 25, 2023.

In the end of March, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), our nations largest land manager, released a draft rulemaking - Public Lands Rule - that would reprioritize their multiple-use mandate to put conservation and recreation on equal footing with grazing and resource extraction. The multiple-use mandate was first put forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. However, in the ensuing decades, the BLM has failed to prioritize conservation, even when it is the most appropriate use.

This rulemaking rebalances the BLM’s priorities towards recreation, conservation, and tribal co-stewardship. These are the types of changes we need to be able to ensure that BLM lands are preserved so that they can continue to support healthy ecosystems which can be enjoyed by future generations for years to come.

The Mountain Pact, and the local elected officials in The Mountain Pact network, are doing what we can to ensure that federal land management policies support our Western mountain communities. In particular, we are encouraged that the Biden administration has reversed the many misguided policies of the former administration; combat the existential threat of climate change that directly impacts our communities; and ensure that our public lands that are outside our backdoors are conserved and protected for future generations.

The Mountain Pact has worked with local elected officials throughout the Western U.S. to draw attention to the importance of protect public lands to our communities. Below is a collection of work. Click the images to learn more.

Media Coverage

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111 Colorado Local Elected Officials Call on Senator Gardner to Act on CORE Act

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Pendley Out as BLM Director

Response to the Trump Administration’s proposed rule to amend the ONRR

Indian Country Today on Pendley Reauthorization

William Perry Pendley was reauthorized five times before being “indefinitely” placed in the “Acting” Director role at the Bureau of Land Management on June 5, 2020.

Pendley's Re-appointment

Bernhardt's Nomination

Salida City Council Review CORE Act Letter

Government Shutdown- John Wentworth Mammoth Lakes, CA

2019 Fly-in

Mountain Communities go to D.C.

Oil and Gas Lease Valuation

Bernhardt's Nomination

Bernhardt's Confirmation

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Energy Dominance Impact

Energy Dominance Impacts

Ark Valley on Pendley Reauthorization

William Perry Pendley was reauthorized five times before being “indefinitely” placed in the “Acting” Director role at the Bureau of Land Management on June 5, 2020.

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William Pendley as Acting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director

Department of Interior Secretary Bernhardt reappointed William Pendley as Acting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director whose appointment was set to expire on September 30.

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OPinion-editorials

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Pendley Reinstated. Again.

The Gallup Sun printed an op-ed on June 19, 2020 from Mountain Pact Executive Director Anna Peterson on William Perry Pendley’s indefinite appointment.

Time to Pass the CORE Act

Fire William Perry Pendley

Senator Gardner, Support the CORE Act

Chaffee County, Colorado Commissioner Keith Baker

Has an op-ed published in the Colorado Sun addressing PILT and how adding a Gateway Community Dividend to the PILT

Public Input-Kalen Jones and Rani Derasary Moab, UT

Energy Dominance-Hunter Mortensen Frisco, CO

Zinke's First Year-Todd Brown Telluride, CO

Methane Rule-Corinne Platt Ophir, CO

Methane Waste-Corey Thompson Red Lodge, MT

Energy Dominance-Hunter Mortensen Frisco, CO

Oil and Gas Leasing-Will Dujardin Crested Butte, CO

Methane Waste and Emissions-Sarah Smith Hymes Avon, CO

Bernhardt's Nomination-Hunter Mortensen Frisco, CO

Sage Grouse-Corinne Platt Ophir, CO

Zinke's First Year-Anna Peterson, The Mountain Pact

Antiquities Act-Natalia Macker Teton County, WY

RESOLUTIONS in Support of Protecting 30% lands & Waters by 2030 & the America the Beautiful Initiative

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RESOLUTIONS in Support of the Pause to new Oil & Gas Leasing on Federal public lands

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Mountain Pact Letters

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President-Elect Biden Transition Letter

CORE Act letter to Senator Gardner

To Congress: Don’t Pass SECURE/ONSHORE Acts

To DOI: Preserve and Protect National Monuments

To DOI: Maintain the Methane Rule

To DOI: Increase Royalty Rates

Congress: Oppose William Perry Pendley

Letter to Congress asking them to oppose William Perry Pendley’s role as Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

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Mountain PAct reports

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Conserving & Restoring America The Beautiful: Now is the Time

Building Back Better

Conservation in the Trump Era

The Case for Balanced Public Lands Use

Preserving the Antiquities Act

Mountain Pact Statements and releases

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Rep. Deb Haaland Selected to lead DOI

GAO report cuts to royalty payments ineffective and unnecessary.

POLITICO reported that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that U.S. Department of the Interior did not conduct a proper analysis before making steep cuts to royalty payments from oil and gas companies, and that those cuts were unnecessary and ineffective

RELEASE: 111 Colorado Local Elected Officials Call On Senator Gardner to Support the CORE Act

William Perry Pendley Out as Director of the Bureau of Land Management

Pendley Officially Nominated

On June 26, in another late Friday announcement, Trump announced that he intends to officially nominate William Perry Pendley to be the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. This comes after four reinstatements and an “indefinite” appointment on June 5. These appointments circumvented the Senate's constitutional "advice and consent" role in confirming high-level nominees. Pendley has been running the Bureau of Land Management for almost a year – since July 2019.

William Perry Pendley "Indefinitely" BLM Director

William Perry Pendley was reauthorized five times before being “indefinitely” placed in the “Acting” Director role at the Bureau of Land Management on June 5, 2020.

Department of Interior Secretary Bernhardt reappointed William Pendley as Acting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director

Department of Interior Secretary Bernhardt reappointed William Pendley as Acting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director whose appointment was set to expire on September 30. The reappointment terminates on January 3, 2020.