Colorado’s two Democratic U.S. senators spoke in favor of a sweeping public lands bill known as the CORE Act, which would protect 400,000 acres in the state, during a Wednesday hearing of a key Senate committee.

“The CORE Act is a testament to the hard work and commitment of people in my state who care deeply about protecting our public lands,” said U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a sponsor of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining.

“They know how much public lands matter to our economy, our heritage, and our way of life. This bill is their best effort to strengthen and sustain that legacy for the next generation,” he said.

The bill, first introduced in 2019 by Bennet and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Lafayette Democrat, passed the House in February.

It would set aside nearly 73,000 acres as wilderness, designate about 80,000 acres as recreation and conservation management areas and establish Camp Hale, where soldiers learned to ski during World War II, as the first National Historic Landscape. The bill also prohibits new oil and gas drilling in the Thompson Divide.

The subcommittee heard testimony on 14 bills involving public lands, including bills affecting the status of public land in Hawaii, South Dakota and Utah, a bill to study the federal government’s payment in lieu of taxes program, and a bill to fund a program to plug orphaned oil and gas wells nationwide.

Committee member U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, who campaigned last year on his support for the CORE Act and added his name as a sponsor after he was sworn in, called the legislation “a team effort.”

“The CORE Act in a very real way is a model of how political engagement should be conducted,” Hickenlooper said. “It represents almost a decade of thoughtful engagement with ranchers, hunters, outdoor recreationists, and anglers, as well as county commissioners and so many other local officials.”

Bureau of Land Management Deputy Director Nada Culver testified in support of the bill, saying the CORE Act advances the Biden administration’s goals of “restoring balance to the management of our public lands and waters, creating jobs, and increasing recreational opportunities.”

After the hearing, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Silt Republican who opposes the CORE Act, released a statement saying she hasn’t been consulted about the bill even though roughly two-thirds of the land it affects are in her 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of Colorado’s Western Slope.

“The CORE Act is a partisan land-grab promoted by big-city Democrats who aren’t affected by the land-use bureaucracy that they are shoving down rural Colorado’s throat,” she said.

“While locking up land may sound good to the swamp, it doesn’t work for the people who actually live there.”

Bennet’s office released statements of support for the bill by a half dozen county commissioners from the Western Slope.

“After all these years, we certainly hope the CORE Act can finally pass Congress and be signed into law,” said Democrat Scott Fetchenier, a San Juan County commissioner.

“This looks like our best chance in years to pass this bill now that we have Senator Hickenlooper joining with Senator Bennet and Congressman Neguse to get this bill over the finish line. This type of legislation is just what we need to protect our public lands, bolster our recreation based economy, and help prevent climate change.”