Conservation Policy - Rocky Mountain Voice

Antiquities Act rebalanced: DOJ says President Trump has authority to cancel national monument designations

denvergazette.com, Approved, National / June 12, 2025 / Antiquities Act, Biden administration, Conservation Policy, Department of Justice, Energy Production, Executive Authority, Federal Land Policy, National Monuments, Public Land Use, Trump Administration

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s administration say he has the authority to abolish national monuments meant to protect historical and archaeological sites across broad landscapes, including two in California created by his predecessor at the request of Native American tribes.

Colorado has nine national monuments, which include Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Chimney Rock National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Browns Canyon National Monument, Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, and Yucca House National Monument.

A Justice Department legal opinion released Tuesday disavowed a 1938 determination that monuments created by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act can’t be revoked. The department said presidents can cancel monument designations if protections aren’t warranted.

Antiquities Act rebalanced: DOJ says President Trump has authority to cancel national monument designations Read More »

Montrose Commissioner Pond: Why I’m Drawing the Line and Standing Against Federal Land Grabs

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent an official action or position of the Montrose Board of County Commissioners.

I was appointed to represent the people of District 3 in Montrose County, and I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. That includes defending our land, our rights, and our way of life here in Western Colorado.

In recent months, there’s been a coordinated push to place more of Colorado under federal control. We already fought back against the proposed Dolores National Monument, a 500,000-acre land grab, and we won.

Then came a 68,000 acre National Conservation Area proposal in Mesa and Montrose Counties. We stood our ground again and stopped it.

But now we’re facing two more massive federal designations.

Montrose Commissioner Pond: Why I’m Drawing the Line and Standing Against Federal Land Grabs Read More »

Activism over science? Proposed ballot measure #82 would gut CPW authority, opponents say

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories / May 27, 2025 / Ballot Initiative, Ballot-box Biology, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Conservation Policy, Hunting Rights, Private Property Rights, Science-Based Management, Tax policy, Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation Commission

Critics across Colorado’s hunting, ranching, and wildlife management communities are sounding the alarm over a 2026 ballot measure they say could upend science-based conservation and rural land rights.

Initiative #82, called the Colorado Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection Act, would create a new regulatory body, the Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation Commission (WECC). The commission would hold far-reaching powers over endangered species protections, wildlife corridors, land use, and even Colorado Parks and Wildlife itself.

Activism over science? Proposed ballot measure #82 would gut CPW authority, opponents say Read More »