Colorado’s great outdoors is what makes our state so unique. And we cannot take these critical landscapes for granted, especially when they are under threat. Threats out of Washington, D.C. from Congress and the Trump Administration’s U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to sell our public lands to the highest bidder; threats from the impacts of droughts, floods, mudslides, loss of biodiversity and beetle infestations due to climate change; and wanton firings of career staff at federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service by the Trump Administration—all pose a major risk to Colorado’s treasured outdoors. And they risk harming our thriving outdoor recreation industry. 

As governor, I will fight to ensure that Colorado’s forests and open spaces—federal and state—are cared for, defended, and well-managed for the benefit of the people of Colorado. And I will champion our world class outdoor recreation and sportsman industries—river rafting, hiking, skiing, fishing, and hunting—so these thriving businesses continue to drive our state’s economy and the economic vitality of our rural communities. 

Defending our Public Lands

36 percent of Colorado is federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. And the state owns and cares for 220,000 acres spanning 43 state parks—enjoyed by over 18 million visitors each year. Colorado’s forest landscapes are not just a beautiful aspect of our state. These forests serve as a critical role in fighting climate change, absorbing carbon and protecting the quality of our land, air, wildlife and water. And they are struggling—with tree ranges contracting, and forests not regenerating fast enough from impacts of fires, disease and infestations. We must step up.

As governor, I will ensure these lands are protected—-both Colorado-owned parks, and federal lands—so they remain tourist-destination spots and wild spaces for our kids and grandkids. And I will partner with entities like Great Outdoors Colorado to acquire and protect more acres throughout the state with natural beauty that hold promise to be our next great state parks.

When plans were released out of Washington, D.C. to sell off our public lands to the highest bidder, I stood against efforts by Trump’s Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and his plans to sell Colorado’s treasured monuments, parks, and lands. As governor, I will never stop fighting to stop the Trump White House and Interior Secretary Burgum—and anyone else—from robbing Coloradans of our public lands and auctioning them off to wealthy and out-of-state landowners. Our public lands belong to all of us—and as governor I will fight each day to keep it that way.

Proactive Forest Management

Colorado is gifted with expansive forests throughout much of our state. With 65 percent of Colorado forests on federally-owned land, we must partner at all levels of government to protect our forest resources. And with the Trump Administration’s callous and illogical firings of federal employees at agencies that care for our forests’ health, it’s more important than ever for Colorado to step up its efforts. This is particularly true with the wanton firings of dedicated career employees at agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service which was reported to have suffered a 24 percent loss of permanent staff since January 2025. And I have learned that in many Colorado forests—like the White River National Forest and the Pike-San Isabel National Forest—that number may be as high as 40 percent. Now more than ever the state must be vigilant in managing and protecting Colorado’s forests. As governor, I will work in partnership with federal forest management officials in our region as well as local, regional, and tribal leaders to actively manage our public forests and ensure they have the resources and care they need.

Working collaboratively to invest in proven strategies—like removal of dead, diseased, and downed trees, slash removal, supporting wildlife, and strategically leveraging state resources to protect wildland health—will make Colorado a national leader in forest management, make our forests healthier, and drive our economy through enhanced outdoor recreation.

Battling Wildfires

The risk of wildfires is growing in our state. And research shows that they are larger, more frequent, and more unpredictable. With hotter and drier Colorado weather due to climate change, a single out-of-control fire can destroy thousands of forest acres; put homes, communities, and water resources at dire risk; and cause major damage to our air quality. This requires a two-pronged approach of fighting climate change and improving conditions so fires do not burn as intensely. To do this, the state must play a greater role in working with landowners—both private and public—in supporting the clearing of dead and diseased pine-beetle infested trees that allow fires to burn unchecked. The state should also step into a greater role, working collaboratively with local and regional officials, to drive wildfire prevention and not just wildfire response. And the state should innovate more to solve this problem—like working with property insurers to provide lower costs to those undertaking fire prevention efforts including for mountain community homes.

A major part of this effort is providing full resources to Colorado’s wildland firefighters, so they have every tool and all equipment necessary to contain and extinguish fires. That includes access to protective gear, and expanded use of technology to deploy resources to catch wildfires at their outset. And as part of my efforts to use technology to improve state government services, I will direct state agencies to seek new technological tools and systems that can improve the state’s ability to locate wildfires when they are most manageable so they can be extinguished before becoming the next major disaster in our state.

Outdoor Recreation Economy

What makes Colorado so special—and what makes us distinctly Coloradan—is not just that our public lands, forests, rivers, and streams exist, but also that we can access and enjoy them. Outdoor recreation in Colorado employs over 400,000 people across the state—12.5 percent of Colorado’s workforce. And, when coupled with the adjacent hospitality and travel industries necessary to enable it, the sector contributes $36.5 billion to Colorado’s economy. It is a critical industry of our state and a particularly important economic driver for mountain and rural towns across Colorado and must be promoted. Colorado must continue to support events like the Outside Festival and the Outside Summit—designed to showcase the unique role played by nature and fostering new collaborations and opportunities in our outdoor spaces. 

As governor and as a hiker, I will champion Colorado’s outdoor recreation and sportsman industries—skiing, hunting, fishing, guiding, mountain biking. With leadership from the Governor’s Office and Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, we must ensure that this industry grows, thrives, and remains the economic generator that it is. That includes finding regulatory efficiencies to make it easier to stand up and operate a new outdoor recreation business—by eliminating redundant or unnecessary requirements on these businesses that serve little or no purpose. As part of my overall regulatory agenda, on day one I will issue an executive order that includes a top-to-bottom review of bureaucratic requirements on licensing, operations, and other government requirements that impact outdoor recreation businesses. That review will drive my efforts to eliminate unnecessary rules and regulations that serve no public safety, welfare, or health role and stifle new businesses and their chance to succeed.

Much of our outdoor recreation industry can be supported—or hindered—by transportation routes and congestion. As governor, I will direct the Transportation Commission and the Colorado Department of Transportation (“CDOT”) to develop a strategy to incorporate outdoor recreation hubs, particularly along the Western Slope, in the state’s transportation planning documents that direct future infrastructure improvements. This outdoor recreation-focused transportation planning will lead to greater multimodal options—whether through additional Bustang stops, new routes, rail connections or high-occupancy vehicle lanes—for people to cleanly and swiftly reach ski-towns, destination rivers, and other outdoor attractions. This innovative effort will make our mountain communities and outdoor recreation opportunities more accessible and reduce congestion on key mountain corridors.

Getting Kids Outside

The outdoors can also contribute to addressing the youth mental health crisis we are facing. Unstructured time spent outside has been shown again and again to enhance resiliency, promote health, and spread joy for our kids. As governor, I will work with the General Assembly to enact legislation to provide new opportunities for K-12 schools and school districts to partner with the outdoor recreation industry. This effort will provide greater outdoor educational opportunities for K-12 students, allowing them to connect with nature, disconnect from their phones, and learn about all the state has to offer through its public lands—as well as expose them to future career paths in the outdoor industries across our state.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

To protect our great outdoors and support our outdoor recreation and sportsmen industries, I will work to improve and enhance the state’s partnerships and working relationships with all sectors of our outdoor economies. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (“CPW”) is one of the most critical state agencies that serves our citizens, our wildlife, and our outdoors—that’s why it is so important that the CPW board and staff do their critical work while also striving to improve CPW’s services, dialogue, and collaboration with environmental advocates, agricultural industries, and communities throughout the state. As governor, I will direct CPW to focus on successful regional collaborations like that of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area and look to promote and expand such collaborations.

CPW also has complex challenges and important duties laid before it—particularly by the voters’ mandate under Proposition 114 to reintroduce wolves in Colorado. This work has and should always be guided by a commitment to implementing the voters’ will. And importantly, that must include responsibly reintroducing and managing a gray wolf population in our state, and doing so transparently, collaboratively, and honoring the voters’ directive for a fair system to make whole any ranchers whose livestock are harmed by reintroduced wolves. 

As governor, these principles will be what guide us:

• Ensuring the voters’ directives are carried out—and that all stakeholders and impacted persons can expect transparency and genuine collaboration in how programs are managed; 

• Adequate funding to ensure programs are responsibly operated and that compensation for stakeholder losses is fairly distributed when needed;

• Open dialogue with CPW and the governor’s Office will always exist to ensure that all parties and communities have a voice that is listened to and considered in CPW decision-making processes; and

• Ensuring Colorado’s open spaces are available and accessible.