Hahns Peak, Buff Pass, more Routt County public lands could be for sale in ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

Analysis from the Wilderness Society shows that nearly all public land in Routt County not protected as wilderness could be sold.

Someone posted 'for sale' signs at the Dry Lake Campground trailhead on Buffalo Pass outside of Steamboat Springs in March, protesting efforts to sell off public lands. (Courtesy/Steamboat Radio)

The hike up Hahns Peak, trails through the aspens on Buffalo Pass and a large portion of Steamboat Ski Resort are some of the public lands in Routt County that could be for sale in the latest edition of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

According to an analysis by The Wilderness Society, a vast majority of public land in Routt County currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management could be eligible for sale, with the exception of protected wilderness areas.

On Tuesday, Steamboat Springs City Council agreed to rush a letter to Colorado’s members of Congress to oppose the legislation.  

“Colorado is hard hit and there are certain areas that we all treasure in Routt County that could potentially be on the list as well,” said Council President Gail Garey, adding that they should specifically send the letter to Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd (CD – 3). “Put them on the list as well, just to see what can be done.”

The Wilderness Society’s analysis indicates that most, if not all, of the National Forest that Steamboat Ski Resort calls home could be eligible for sale, including the top of landmarks like Thunderhead, Sunshine Peak, Storm Peak and Mount Werner itself. Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. representatives didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Yampa Valley Bugle late Tuesday.

While most land for sale in Routt County is National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management's Emerald Mountain Special Recreation Management Area on the backside of Emerald Mountain is also on the list for potential sale. This features the popular Beall, Ridge and Rotary trail loops.

In total, more than 14.3 million acres of public lands in Colorado could be eligible for sale if the bill were to pass in its current form. The draft of the budget bill requires the sale of 0.5% to 0.75% of the 438 million acres federal agencies manage across the West. That could be as much as 3.3 million total acres sold.  

The Wilderness Society found more than 250 million acres that have been identified for potential sale across the West, many of them recreation areas, wilderness study areas, inventoried roadless areas, critical wildlife habitat and big game migration corridors.

“The bill directs what is likely the largest single sale of national public lands in modern history to help cut taxes for the richest people in the country,” the group wrote in a summary of the bill. “It trades ordinary Americans’ access to outdoor recreation for a short-term payoff that disproportionately benefits the privileged and well-connected.”

Michael Carroll, the BLM Campaign Director at The Wilderness Society, told the Denver Post that there were changes to the bill over the weekend to remove language exempting certain types of leases from potential sale. Grazing leases, which cover large parts of the West, are no longer exempt from potential sale, but public lands with existing mining or drilling leases still have an exemption.

The Post reports that changes strengthened language in the bill requiring land that’s sold be used for housing or “infrastructure to support local housing needs.” Before that language had been simply “community needs.” Revenue generated — estimated between $5 billion and $10 billion — goes to the U.S. Treasury.

“This bill sets up relatively under-resourced state and local governments to lose open bidding wars to well-heeled commercial interests,” The Wilderness Society wrote. “It lacks safeguards to ensure land is used for [housing], and it sets up a system where lands could be sold or resold for non-housing uses after just 10 years. Research suggests that very little of the land managed by the BLM and USFS is actually suitable for housing.”

The U.S. Forest Service is already working with the Yampa Valley Housing Authority to build housing on federally owned land in Steamboat Springs off of Hilltop Drive. This parcel is seemingly not eligible for sale, according to The Wilderness Society’s map.

The new public lands provision is an expansion of one that Western lawmakers, including Rep. Joe Neguse who represents Routt County, were able to get removed from the House version of the bill. The provision is more expansive in the Senate version of the bill.

“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,” Rep Neguse and Sen. Michael Bennet said in a June 12 statement. “We must continue to stand in firm opposition to any provisions that would put a for sale sign on our nation’s treasured public lands.”