Morgan Carroll, Challenger in 6th District, Endorses Keeping Public Lands Public
Morgan Carroll, a candidate in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, has formally endorsed a statement of principles in support of keeping public lands public, the National Wildlife Federation said today.
The National Wildlife Federation and its state affiliates have asked congressional and legislative candidates across the nation, if they are elected, to oppose large-scale sales or transfers of public lands or attempts to undermine the management of lands that belong to all Americans. Forty-two sportsmen’s organizations from across the country, including the Colorado Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation, also sent letters to the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns, as well as the other presidential candidates, seeking the same commitments.
The National Wildlife Federation has yet to receive a response from, the campaign of Mike Coffman, the incumbent in the 6th District, but will continue to seek one.
“Our network of public lands is quintessentially an American heritage that provides us all with abundant natural resources, unparalleled yet affordable recreation opportunities, large connected landscapes and habitats, and a chance to experience a semblance of the frontier that helped define us as a people,” according to the statement of principles written by the sportsmen’s and conservation groups.
Bipartisan support for public lands is essential in the face of efforts by a small but vocal group of lawmakers at the state and federal levels to dismantle our public-lands heritage, which was built over more than a century by Americans from across the political spectrum.
“As this bruising, contentious election shows, we all need to make the effort to come together and focus on what unites us. America’s public lands are a good starting point. Our public lands, which are open to people of all backgrounds and means, embody important goals: commitment to equality, responsible stewardship of our natural resources and concern for wildlife. We’re calling on all our elected representatives to keep those goals in mind while honoring the public-lands heritage that was established by people of all political views,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund.
In Colorado, public lands help drive an outdoor recreation industry that annually generates $34.5 billion in economic activity and supports 313,000 jobs. A bipartisan poll released earlier this year by Colorado College found that 77 percent of Colorado voters believe national public lands contribute to the state economy and a majority of voters of all affiliations say a candidate’s stance on conservation matters.
And amid the controversy over public lands, state lawmakers this year passed a law creating an annual Colorado Public Lands Day.
“Coloradans are understandably proud of where they live and value the wide range of activities they can take part in on public lands. From the mountains to the sagebrush steppe to the grasslands, our public lands draw people from across the country and even the world. They define us as Coloradans and, more importantly, as Americans,” said Bill Dvorak, the National Wildlife Federation’s public-lands organizer and Colorado’s first licensed rafting outfitter.