The federal government is poised to hand over tens of thousands of acres of Colorado wilderness to oil and gas companies in what conservationists and data indicate is the largest public land lease sale the state has ever seen.
On 16 June 2026, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will auction 170 parcels covering 155,816 acres across eight Colorado counties, land that serves as critical migration corridor, winter habitat and foraging ground for the nation's largest elk herd. The sale is the direct result of legislation signed by President Donald Trump in 2025, and it marks a significant reversal of years of habitat protection policy.
