Arapaho National Forest, Colorado

Daybreak catches Colorado’s Gore Range rising above the sagebrush of the proposed Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area. The area is home to the Middle Park population of greater sage-grouse, as well as to elk, mule deer and other wildlife.

Like the greater sage grouse, many species inhabiting the imperiled sagebrush-steppe ecosystem can survive nowhere else on earth. Unique to the western US, 44% of this ecosystem has already been destroyed through human activity. The Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act would provide permanent protection for this critical habitat.

The product of over a decade of collaboration among local communities, conservationists, ranchers, recreation groups, and elected officials, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act is a comprehensive bill aimed at protecting over 400,000 acres of public land in Colorado.

The CORE Act passed the House of Representatives three times but has been stalled in the Senate amid broader debate regarding the purpose and future of America’s public lands. In 2022, areas within the CORE Act were included in the newly designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, but the work to protect vulnerable wilderness, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities along Colorado’s Continental Divide, San Juan Mountains, and Thompson Divide remain.