Witnesses warn cuts, land‑sale proposals threaten outdoor recreation infrastructure and tourism
Loading...
Summary
During the same Senate Small Business field hearing in Colorado, witnesses and committee members warned that proposed federal budget cuts and discussion of public‑land sales would undermine the national and Colorado outdoor recreation economy by reducing visitor services and international tourism demand.
Senator John Hickenlooper and three Colorado outdoor‑industry entrepreneurs discussed how public lands and federal land management funding support the outdoor recreation economy and the potential harms of proposed budget cuts or land transfers. Witnesses said diminished staffing and the prospect of selling public lands could reduce visitation, harm international tourism and erode the industry's infrastructure.
The hearing underscored why public lands matter to the outdoor industry: witnesses called public lands the "core infrastructure" of the sector and tied maintenance and staffing directly to visitor experience and local economic activity. Senator Hickenlooper said the committee had seen proposals in budget legislation to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of public land and warned that once that precedent begins it could be difficult to reverse.
Travis Campbell told the committee the outdoor industry depends on maintained parks and public spaces for both domestic and international visitors and said cuts to the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management campgrounds would reduce demand. "Public lands are the infrastructure of the outdoor industry," Campbell said, arguing that better‑maintained public lands would be an investment in economic activity.
Trent Bush amplified that point, saying the industry has more demand for public‑land access than supply and that selling or poorly maintaining sites would make it harder for companies to attract visitors and customers. He also linked access to broader public‑health benefits and participation: "Being in the outdoors resets you," Bush said, adding that higher costs for gear and decreased access would reduce the public health benefits associated with outdoor recreation.
Senator Hickenlooper raised concern about a provision discussed in a recent budget bill that would have transferred over 500,000 acres of public land (mentioned in testimony as concentrated in Nevada and Utah), calling the idea "sobering" and warning it would blur a long‑standing line against executive sales of public lands.
No formal action on public‑land policy was taken at the hearing. Committee members and witnesses urged further attention from Congress and recommended preserving funding and staffing for federal land management agencies to sustain recreation‑dependent local economies.
The hearing record remains open and committee staff said witnesses may submit additional material; no timetable for legislative proposals or changes to land‑management budgets was announced.
