Hickenlooper Slams New Republican Effort to Open National Parks for Sale

This latest effort follows Senate Republicans' push to sell off three million acres of public lands this summer

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper called out the latest Republican effort to erase protections for national parks and public lands in a Senate spending package and open them to being sold. On Twitter/x, he posted:

"Right before the holidays, Republicans keep looking for sneaky ways to sell off our public lands and national parks - this time as an amendment to the Interior appropriations bill.

"We stopped them before, and we're ready to do it again.

"OUR PUBLIC LANDS ARE NOT FOR SALE."

Specifically, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) Chairman Mike Lee proposed an amendment to the proposed spending package for the Department of Interior to remove provisions that prevent the Trump administration from selling off national parks and require the administration to keep ownership and maintain all existing National Park Service units and national historic trails.

Hickenlooper has been outspoken against Trump administration cuts to public lands and helped lead the fight against Senator Mike Lee's proposal to sell off more than three million acres of public lands this summer. Hickenlooper first sounded the alarm back in April when he voted against the Republican budget resolution and introduced an amendment with colleagues to protect public lands from being sold to pay for Republicans' tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

In May, Hickenlooper held a press conference in Estes Park with Congressman Neguse, public lands advocates, and local elected officials to call out the Trump administration's threats to Colorado's national parks and public lands, including Rocky Mountain National Park.

He also led an effort against the admin's plans to overturn the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Public Lands Rule. In March, he introduced legislation to reinstate the thousands of National Park Service and Forest Service workers the Trump administration illegally fired.

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