Eagle County officials sound off on potential sale of public lands in ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

This may have changed by the time you’re reading this, but of all the action taking place in the nation’s capital, the potential sale of federal lands has local officials most on edge.

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday sat down with several staff members to talk about the potential effects of an avalanche of presidential executive orders and pending federal legislation. The biggest impact could be contained in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Eagle County’s total land area is 1.078 million acres, or 1,685 square miles. Of that, 80%, or 1,348 square miles, is federal land.

That package of tax cuts and spending measures could have a profound impact on Eagle County and the rest of the western U.S. In one form, it calls for the sale of between 2 million and 3.3 million acres of federal land. According to the information packet prepared by county staff, the revenue would be earmarked for housing and community development.

As of June 24, the Senate version of the bill removed U.S. Forest Service property from the bill.

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But events have been moving unusually quickly in Washington D.C. Commissioner Tom Boyd noted that during Tuesday’s work session, Reps. Joe Neguse, a Democrat, and Jeff Hurd, a Republican, both of whom represent Eagle County, and together represent nearly the entire Western Slope, released a joint statement opposing any sale of public lands.

Some congressional opposition

“Colorado’s public lands belong to the people and are held in trust for future generations,” the statement reads. “They don’t belong to political appointees or outside interests. Neither of our districts asked for this land sale, and any efforts to sell off these shared spaces are deeply unpopular with the hunters, ranchers, fishermen, recreationists, conservationists, and outdoor enthusiasts we are proud to represent in Congress.”

Boyd said that’s a good start. But, he added, it seems to be part of what seems to be a “shell game” with the bill.

Boyd said what county officials need to do is determine: “What are our values? What do we care about?”

That should lead to county officials establishing strategies and potential defenses against potential federal action, Boyd added.

And, he noted, that feeling is shared by other commissioners around the West. People he’s talked to, from both sides of the political spectrum, most recently at a national conference, “want the shenanigans to stop,” he said.

In any large-scale sale of public lands, representatives should be held accountable by voters, Boyd added.

If federal lands do end up being sold locally, much of that property will be difficult to develop, Eagle County Attorney Beth Oliver said.

Oliver said the majority of federal land carries the county’s most restrictive zoning in terms of permitted land uses. Even the land that allows residential use allows just one single-family home per 80 acres, and then only with a special use permit.

Further limits possible

Oliver, who is spearheading the rewriting of the county’s land use codes, said that effort can further limit residential use on that property by rezoning virtually all federal property into the county’s “backcountry” zone district.

“The importance of this is certainly there,” Boyd said, adding that “only now is this ridiculous idea coming forward.” Still, he noted, there doesn’t seem to be the urgency that there was, even on Monday.

The commissioners are expected to consider, and will probably pass, a resolution in support of public lands at their meeting on Tuesday, July 1. That resolution is part of a package of potential responses to federal actions, including contacting the county’s federal legislators, both personally and as a board.

On the other hand, Avon Town Manager Eric Heil said that “it’s really difficult to strategize on doing anything meaningful” in the current environment, adding that he believes the current “whack-a-mole chaos by the hour is partly intentional. I just don’t see any good intention behind it.”

Heil offered whatever support Avon could provide to the county’s efforts.

Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney told Heil, as well as Minturn Mayor Earle Bidez, who was in the audience, that they’d receive copies of the resolution.

“I’m so sorry this is where we’re at right now,” she said.