Editor’s note: Senate Energy Chairman Mike Lee’s plan to sell off thousands of square miles of Western public lands has apparently been halted for now, but Lee has vowed to resurrect his idea of selling public lands in the West to private interests.
To my fellow Coloradans,
You may have heard that public lands are up for sale — but did you know they include our own backyard treasures? Gothic Mountain, the trails around Crested Butte, and parts of the Maroon Bells Wilderness could soon belong to billionaires or corporations, not to the people who love and rely on them. These aren’t hypothetical risks — this was written into legislation that would allow buyers to sit on the land for any future use, including mining or development.
Prices aren’t going to be cheap and they certainly aren’t going to average Coloradans.
I’m a scientist and mom of three in Centennial. For over 20 years, I’ve conducted ecological research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), on Forest Service lands now at risk. Since 2018, I’ve tracked ground temperatures every five minutes at 30 alpine sites to understand whether a species of Sulfur butterfly caterpillars can find microclimate refuges to survive climate change. This work may sound obscure — but it’s part of a bigger picture. We can’t fix what we don’t understand. Long-term, place-based science like this is how we learn what to protect and how.
RMBL has conducted ecological research since 1928 — approaching 100 years — and revealed why 20% less water reaches our rivers today despite normal snowpack — crucial knowledge for managing water for 40 million people across the West. RMBL scientists are also studying native bees which we barely understand — and may be crucial to rescue colony collapse and our food system, having already documented a 60% insect decline. These insights matter deeply to our food, our farms, and our future.
This is about more than science — it’s about access, community, and what kind of Colorado we’re leaving for our kids. Our local economies, recreation, and ranching depend on these lands. In 2023, outdoor recreation generated $65.8 billion in economic output and over 400,000 jobs in Colorado.
I don’t want my children to grow up with “No Trespassing” signs where we once camped, hiked, and smelled wildflowers. We must protect the lands that feed our bodies, minds, and spirits — not put them behind locked gates or luxury price tags.
Wouldn’t you just love to pay ski ticket prices to camp on land you can now camp for free or a small permit fee? Call your senators. Tell them to stop this sale.
This guest column was written by Jeannie Stamberger, who has been conducting fieldwork in ecology and evolution at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory since 2001, obtaining her Ph.D. in biology at Stanford University in 2006. She has served on the RMBL board and is a current principal investigator at RMBL. She is a mother of three who lives with her husband and family in Centennial.