U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd wants the federal government to lift recently imposed restrictions on oil and gas production and the utilization of other resources across millions of acres of public lands in Colorado and other Western states.

The Grand Junction Republican, elected in November to represent most of the Western Slope and Southern Colorado, said that the bill he introduced this week will reverse multiple plans issued by the Bureau of Land Management under the Biden administration in a bid to “put us on a path to energy dominance,” a goal in line with President Donald Trump’s vow to “unleash” domestic energy production.

Environmental and public lands advocacy groups said the move would undo years of public input and work to reach compromises that balance conservation and development.

The Productive Public Lands Act would require BLM to revoke nine Resource Management Plans issued in 2024 and 2025, covering much of the agency’s land in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Oregon.

“The Productive Public Lands Act would reactivate the resource potential of our public lands,” Hurd said in a statement. “This bill would force the Bureau of Land Management to reissue nine Biden-era Resource Management Plans which locked up access to viable lands throughout Colorado and the West. A reissuance of these RMPs will put us on a path to energy dominance allowing for a more secure and prosperous United States.”

A bill co-sponsor, U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California, said the bill takes aim at decisions made by the Biden administration, which the Republican said in a statement “was hell-bent on locking up public lands, threatening the prosperity of rural economies across the country.”

“Fortunately, a new era has dawned, and we have the opportunity to reverse these lockups and reinstate the multiple-use mandate on America’s public lands,” said LaMalfa, who chairs the House GOP’s Western Caucus. “The Productive Public Lands Act will open up the public’s land to be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, drilling, mining, and other appropriate uses.”

Aaron Weiss, the Center for Western Priorities’ deputy director, told Colorado Politics that Hurd is disregarding his district.

“For a brand-new member of Congress, you’d hope Jeff Hurd would spend more time listening to his constituents. This bill would undermine the years of work that communities across Colorado have spent building an outdoor recreation economy. This bill ignores Colorado voters, who overwhelmingly want their member of Congress to protect clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat instead of maximizing oil and gas drilling,” Weiss said in an email.

“Congress shouldn’t be in the business of micromanaging public lands. Voters across the West agree that decisions about public lands are best made by the expert ecologists, biologists, and land managers who spend years crafting these resource management plans,” Weiss said. “Congressman Hurd’s bill would undermine all of that.”

In the annual Conservation in the West Poll, conducted by a bipartisan team of pollsters and released last month by Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Project, voters in eight Western states, including Colorado, said they want their members of Congress to emphasize preservation and recreation on public lands rather than encouraging energy production by a three-to-one margin. 

The preference was also held by a majority of self-identified MAGA voters, though by a narrower margin, with 51% opting for preservation and recreation, and 44% saying the want officials to maximize energy production on public lands.

Jocelyn Torres, chief conservation officer for the Conservation Lands Foundation, a group focused on advocating for lands managed by BLM, said the legislation introduced by Hurd seeks to circumvent the lengthy process that produced the plans the legislation would scrap.

“Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on delays and creating unnecessary uncertainty, Congress ought to respect the people’s will and stick to the community-informed and well balanced plans that protect our public lands, support local economies and provide outdoor recreational opportunities,” Torres told Colorado Politics in an emailed statement.

Hurd’s bill, she added, “undermines extensive public input and thorough and transparent environmental assessments — all in the name of a quick and cheap industry giveaway. It’s a complete slap in the face to the majority of voters of all political affiliations in the west who love and enjoy the natural beauty of their state, who are very concerned about efforts to reduce natural areas, and who don’t support selling public lands.”

In a tele-town hall Tuesday night, Hurd said he prioritizes protecting public lands but also wants to encourage using the land “responsibly.”

“Certainly, protecting our public lands and making sure that they’re available for future generations is something that I take seriously and something I will definitely fight for,” Hurd said during the call.

Noting that he has sponsored legislation to move BLM’s headquarters back to Grand Junction from Washington, D.C. — reversing a Biden administration decision that reversed the first Trump administration’s move — Hurd said he’s devoting attention to his district’s natural resources.

“I’m also doing some other federal land issues, as well, trying to make sure that we protect our beautiful outdoor spaces, but we also make sure that we use them responsibly as well, including making sure that we create economic opportunities so that families can grow and thrive in southern and western Colorado,” Hurd said.