Protesters dressed as swamp creatures kayaked down a river while others marched along a bike path, past private tennis courts and swanky swimming pools outside the hotel where governors met with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.
鈥淢y shirt says keep your oily hands off of Colorado's public lands,鈥� says Chelsea Stencel, who was among the protesters. 鈥淒avid Bernhardt, the ultimate swamp monster.鈥�
Bernhardt has been compared to a on multiple occasions for his former business ties to the industries that he鈥檚 now in charge of regulating, as the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau .
Protesters came from across the state, including Fort Collins and Greeley, and were concerned about policies to open up public lands for oil and gas drilling.
鈥淗e's leasing the public lands to oil and gas and uranium mining for sometimes $1.50 an acre, which is obscene,鈥� says Deborah McLaughlin.
Others worry about potential increases in mining, including a limestone quarry in nearby Glenwood Springs.
鈥淩ight above Glenwood Springs, which would really devastate that whole community,鈥� says Jerry Berg. 鈥�(Bernhardt) is an oil and gas lobbyist in charge of our public lands. And so we're here to protest that.鈥�
The Western Governors Association meeting will continue through Wednesday. Topics on the docket include fighting invasive species, delivering broadband connectivity to rural areas and forecasting water resources.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City, KUNR in Nevada and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
