Colorado Wild Public Lands, Inc

The Mission of Colorado Wild Public Lands (CWPL) is to protect the integrity, size, and quality of our public lands in Colorado. We advocate for economical and environmentally sensible management of our landscapes.  To this end, we track federal land exchange proposals in Colorado to ensure these deals are in the public interest and the public is adequately heard and represented in these processes.  We seek to maintain natural values and your ability to enjoy these unique public resources.

The land exchanges of concern are swaps of tracts of land between land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Forest Service (USFS), and private entities. Generally, these proposals are initiated by private parties as a means to bolster their private interests. 

There have been over 150 land exchanges in Colorado in the past two decades, yet these trades go largely unnoticed by the public and can lead to the consequential loss of public lands with little public involvement. Although there are statutes and regulations intended to protect the public interest in this process, land exchanges are complicated and extend over long time periods, making it difficult to follow or to gain a clear understanding of the long-term costs or benefits of the proposed changes in Federal ownership. 

With a tagline of "Keep it Open and Keep it Ours," CWPL acts as a public lands "watchdog," engaging the affected stakeholders and communities to ensure they have the opportunity to be informed and involved in these decisions that may permanently change their use and enjoyment of our public lands.