Which public lands near Boulder could be sold under Senate Republicans’ proposal?

The Switzerland and Sourdough trails. The Sport Park, a well-known climbing area in Boulder Canyon. Sections of Left Hand Creek and Boulder Creek, prized by fly fishers. A ski line on Caribou Ranch, a popular ski touring destination. 

These are just a few of the public recreation areas that could be sold off under a proposal by Senate Republicans to auction off between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states. 

The plan, introduced as part of a sweeping Republican budget bill, targets public land near population centers, with the stated goal of making more land available for housing. In Colorado, most Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land would be eligible for sale, about 14 million acres. The sale is projected to generate between $5 and $10 million in federal revenue. 

The proposal has sparked widespread criticism from environmental and recreational groups, as well as Democratic lawmakers. 

“Auctioning off these lands to pay for President Trump’s radical agenda, including the prioritization of tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, is an affront to our core values,” Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse said in a joint statement with Sen. Michael Bennet on June 12. Neguse represents Boulder and much of the national forest land to its west, including large sections of Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert supports the plan, saying that most federal land is “poorly managed.” In a statement, she called the approach more sustainable and said it encourages coordination with state and local governments. “The outrage from the far left is not only unwarranted — it’s out of touch with the real challenge facing rural America,” Boebert said in a statement to CPR. She represents Eastern Colorado, where there is virtually no public land eligible for sale under the plan.

What would be sold — and what wouldn’t

A map from the Outdoor Alliance highlights over 300 million acres of federal land across the West as eligible for sale. The legislation caps total sales at 3.3 million acres.

Certain lands are exempt, including national parks, national recreation areas and any parcels with existing leases for grazing, mining or other extractive uses. The provision would also expand oil and gas leasing on federal lands. The bill also gives state and local governments the right of first refusal and allows them to nominate public land for sale.

In Boulder County, much of the land potentially affected falls under Forest Service management.

Popular hiking, running and biking trail systems — including Lefthand, Gold Lake, West Magnolia and Winiger Ridge — could be sold. So could dispersed camping areas west of Gross Reservoir and trails near Brainard Lake.

Ski touring terrain at Caribou Ranch and East Portal, west of Nederland, is also eligible. The same goes for fly fishing areas along Left Hand and Boulder creeks west of the city, where  public access is critical because wading, not boating, is the norm.

Climbing areas across Boulder Canyon, St. Vrain Canyon, Shelf Road west of Colorado Springs and along the Peak to Peak Highway, including locations near Estes Park, are likewise at risk.

“Public lands sell-offs are just one piece of a systemic attack on the places we love to recreate and explore,” Kate Beezley, executive director of the Boulder Climbing Community, told Boulder Reporting Lab. 

“The One Big Beautiful Bill, in tandem with a reduction in staffing and budget cuts at the USFS [U.S. Forest Service], BLM and National Parks, is accelerating overuse, degradation of the environment, and closing campsites and other facilities.”