Colorado U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Hurd, the newly elected Congressman representing Colorado’s sprawling third Congressional District, is able to assist return the Bureau of Land Administration headquarters again to Grand Junction. And the Republican first-time politician may need discovered an surprising ally in Gov. Jared Polis.
“Grand Junction affords proximity to public lands and higher entry to stakeholders and it ensures that taxpayer {dollars} are getting used extra effectively,” mentioned Hurd in an interview with The Solar this week. “I might count on that may enhance accountability relating to land administration selections. I feel decentralizing companies just like the BLM creates a chance to higher have interaction native stakeholders and taxpayers. I count on we will probably be listening to extra about this in 2025.”
Pres.-elect Donald Trump moved the BLM to Grand Junction in 2020 however Pres. Joe Biden returned the land administration company to Washington D.C. in 2021. Polis on Thursday morning posted on X that he supported transferring the Inside Division and Forest Service headquarters to Colorado.
Hurd mentioned he hopes to be a consultant “who will hear and who will have interaction.”
“And if I disagree with you, I’ll accomplish that with out being unpleasant,” the Republican mentioned this week from Washington, D.C., the place he was studying the ropes of his first job as a politician. “I wish to hear and be open to totally different views and probably change my strategy to a problem primarily based on what I hear from the folks I symbolize.”
The third Congressional District covers virtually half of Colorado and is bigger than many states at practically 50,000 sq. miles. He acknowledges the range of his district, which ranges from mountain cities to agricultural communities to midsize cities together with Grand Junction, Pueblo and Glenwood Springs.
Hurd cautions towards trying too exhausting into Challenge 2025 for steering on what a second time period for President-elect Donald Trump may imply for Colorado’s rural communities and Western Slope. (The Colorado Solar seemed on the 922-page Challenge 2025 doc — written by staunch conservatives as a information for a brand new president — as a possible roadmap for what could also be coming below a second Trump administration.)
“I considered it after I was working as a menu of choices a Republican administration can take. Whether or not they take any of the proposals in that menu will probably be as much as the brand new administration,” mentioned Hurd, a lawyer who’s 45 and elevating his household of 5 in Grand Junction. “My common strategy is to attend and see.”
Hurd stays against requires President Joe Biden to make use of the Antiquities Act to designate a brand new 390,000-acre nationwide monument across the Decrease Dolores River in Mesa and Montrose counties. If Biden does create new nationwide monuments — as departing presidents usually do — Hurd mentioned he would count on a response from the brand new president. He mentioned he hopes that Biden doesn’t transfer to create a brand new monument across the Dolores River.
“My major concern is that unilateral designation like this fails to bear in mind enter from stakeholders and native communities that may be most impacted by this designation,” Hurd mentioned, noting sturdy opposition to the monument proposal in rural Montrose County. “I assist collaborative land use selections developed by way of Congress. Utilizing presidential motion bypasses a essential function for Congress and, extra importantly, native communities.”
Hurd mentioned he needs to take a better take a look at the influence of repealing Biden’s withdrawal of mineral and vitality leases within the 221,000-acre Thompson Divide, which is one other suggestion provided within the Challenge 2025 doc.
“I feel there’s a technique to steadiness environmental stewardship and accountable vitality growth,” mentioned Hurd, a regulatory legislation lawyer who targeted on rural electrical cooperatives, telecommunications suppliers and different companies coping with advanced rules. “We have to assist vitality safety however we additionally want to verify we account for native enter and for conservation.”
