Dear Editor:
Public lands, and hence hunting, are under threat like never before.[3] From states like Utah (and 14 others) laying claim to Bureau of Land Management lands—which was shot down by the Supreme Court—to Congress attempting to sell public lands using the budget reconciliation process to the Trump administration proposing selling public lands under the guise of promoting homebuilding to rolling back national monument protections.[4]
In a nutshell, hunting access and opportunity are on the chopping block.[5] Public lands provide access and opportunity to 70 million American hunters and anglers. Hunters cite lack of access as the #1 reason they quit hunting. Nothing will limit access and opportunity more than privatization of public lands.[6]
Surveys by the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation have found that over 90% of Colorado hunters use public lands.[7] About 80% of critical habitat for elk and other big game is found on public lands. Approximately 72% of sportsmen and sportswomen in the West rely on public lands for hunting. Any effort to sell off public lands or transfer them to the states is a stake in the heart of hunting.[8]
“As a Marine, I dedicated my career to defending the United States against foreign threats. But it’s unsettling to see domestic threats to the same public lands I fought to protect,” Garrett Robinson wrote in the Spring 2025 Backcountry Journal. “It’s an affront to everything I believe … These lands belong to all Americans, held in trust for current and future generations. Seeing them threatened by short-sighted interests is deeply troubling.”[9]
Hunters are already on the verge of becoming an endangered species, but these proposed actions will essentially guarantee it.[10] Public lands are not a left or right issue, they’re an American issue.[11] Join us in the fight to keep public lands in public hands!
[1] David Lien is a former Air Force officer and author of Hunting for Experience II: Tales of Hunting & Habitat Conservation.
[2] David A. Lien. “A Higher Calling.” Association of Air Force Missileers (AAFM) Newsletter: March 2011, p. 4.
[3] David A. Lien. “Selling Off Public Lands Is Not An Affordable Housing Fix.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/8/25.
[4] Patrick Berry, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President and CEO. “The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/19/24; Kaden McArthur. “Supreme Court Rejects Utah’s Land Grab Lawsuit: A Victory for Public Land Owners.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/13/25.
[5] Nadia Marji. “Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Urges Congress to Abandon Proposal to Sell off Public Lands as Part of Budget Discussions.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/2/25.
[6] David A. Lien. “Selling Off Public Lands Is Not An Affordable Housing Fix.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/8/25.
[7] Tim Brass. “Funding for public access and conservation vital to hunters and anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: June 2014.
[8] David A. Lien. “Public Lands Mountain Merriam’s Hunt: Access And Opportunity Are On The Chopping Block.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/25/25.
[9] Garrett Robinson. “Faces of BHA.” Backcountry Journal: Spring 2025, p. 19.
[10] Federal Register. “Rescinding the Definition of ‘Harm’ Under the Endangered Species Act.” National Archives: 4/17/25.
[11] David A. Lien. “Selling Off Public Lands Is Not An Affordable Housing Fix.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/8/25.
[12] David A. Lien. “A Higher Calling.” Association of Air Force Missileers (AAFM) Newsletter: March 2011, p. 4.
David Lien
Colorado Springs, Colo.
