Hickenlooper: “His nomination is proof that the Trump administration still views our public lands as assets for sale.”
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper announced at the beginning of the month that he would oppose President Trump’s nomination of former U.S. Representative Steve Pearce to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He was the first senator to publicly oppose Pearce’s nomination and has been sounding the alarm about his nomination.
Here’s what they’re saying:
- Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: Hick is right to oppose BLM nominee early
- Denver 7: WATCH: Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper pushing back against the President’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management
- Colorado Politics: Colorado’s John Hickenlooper says he’ll oppose BLM nominee
- Durango Herald: Our view: Reject Pearce
“Americans deserve a BLM director who will be a true steward of the millions of acres under the agency’s care. Steve Pearce is NOT that person. While in Congress, he attacked environmental protections and fought to sell off public land,” said Hickenlooper.
“His nomination is proof that the Trump administration still views our public lands as assets for sale. On behalf of Colorado, I will vote NO because our public lands are NOT for sale.”
Pearce marked his time in Congress working to undermine environmental protections, open public lands for oil and gas operations, and sell public lands.
Hickenlooper is a former geologist and one of the only scientists in the Senate. He has been outspoken against Trump administration cuts to public lands and led an effort against the admin’s plans to overturn the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule. In March, he introduced legislation to reinstate the thousands of National Park Service and Forest Service workers the Trump administration illegally fired.
Hickenlooper also helped lead the fight against Senator Mike Lee’s proposal to sell off more than three million acres of public lands. Hickenlooper first sounded the alarm back in April when he voted against the Republican budget resolution and introduced an amendment with colleagues to protect public lands from being sold to pay for Republicans’ tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.
In May, Hickenlooper held a press conference in Estes Park with Congressman Neguse, public lands advocates, and local elected officials to call out the Trump administration’s threats to Colorado’s national parks and public lands, including Rocky Mountain National Park.
Check out what they’re saying:
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: Hick is right to oppose BLM nominee early
Steve Pearce, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, is a leopard who can’t change his spots.
That’s the opinion of Colorado’s U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, who took the unusual step of announcing he’ll oppose the nomination well ahead of Pearce’s confirmation hearing, expected to be scheduled in January.
“Americans deserve a BLM director who will be a true steward of the millions of acres under the agency’s care,” Hickenlooper said. “Pearce is NOT that person. While in Congress, he attacked environmental protections and fought to sell off public land.
“His nomination is proof that the Trump administration still views our public lands as assets for sale. On behalf of Colorado, I will vote NO because our public lands are NOT for sale.”
Pretty blunt, but entirely appropriate for the moment. Hickenlooper, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, helped lead the fight against Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s proposal to sell off more than three million acres of public land earlier this year.
Lee withdrew his proposal from a major spending bill in late June 2025 due, in part, to overwhelming bipartisan opposition. The fight led to the formation of the bipartisan Senate Stewardship Caucus, which Hickenlooper joined as an inaugural member.
…Hickenlooper, for one, has made clear that Pearce is the wrong man for the job.
Colorado Politics: Colorado’s John Hickenlooper says he’ll oppose BLM nominee
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., a member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Thursday he will oppose the nomination of Steve Pearce to be the next director of the Bureau of Land Management.
…“Americans deserve a BLM director who will be a true steward of the millions of acres under the agency’s care,” Hickenlooper said. “Pearce is NOT that person,” the senator said. “While in Congress, he attacked environmental protections and fought to sell off public land.” He added that Pearce’s nomination is proof the Trump administration still views public lands as assets for sale. “On behalf of Colorado, I will vote NO because our public lands are NOT for sale,” he said.
Durango Herald: Our view: Reject Pearce
We thought the fight over selling off America’s public lands had been settled in July. But President Donald Trump’s nomination of former New Mexico Republican Congressman Steve Pearce to lead the Bureau of Land Management makes clear the threat is back – and more brazen than ever. Pearce embodies the belief that public lands exist to be liquidated, drilled, or handed off to private interests. Putting him in charge of the BLM is the political equivalent of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) clearly recognizes the danger. On Dec. 4, he took the rare step of announcing – before any confirmation hearing – that he would vote no. Senators do not do this lightly, especially those on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But Hickenlooper didn’t mince words: Americans deserve a BLM director who is “a true steward,” and “Steve Pearce is NOT that person.” Pearce’s record attacking environmental protections and backing the sale of public lands, he said, proves the administration still sees shared lands as “assets for sale.”
He’s right to sound the alarm early. This nomination cannot be treated as business as usual…
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