Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, one from each major political party, announced the formation of a bipartisan congressional coalition to conserve public lands and expand public access. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) and Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) made the announcement at a gathering in Washington DC on May 7, 2025.
“The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation applauds the formation of the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus, chaired by Representatives Ryan Zinke and Gabe Vasquez and co-chaired by Representatives Debbie Dingell and Mike Simpson,” said RMEF Chief Conservation Officer Blake Henning. “This caucus represents an important step to coalescing Congressional support for our public lands and hunter access.”
The formation of the caucus comes at a time when there are proposals in various political circles about transferring or selling public lands.
“RMEF shares concerns related to recent proposals and legal actions attempting to sell off federal lands. These actions necessitate restating our continued support for the Keeping Public Lands in Public Hands Act. We thank Congressman Zinke and Congressman Vasquez for their bold leadership supporting federal public lands,” said Henning.
The caucus looks to bring together lawmakers from both parties to advance practical, consensus-driven public lands policy that conserves natural resources while supporting recreation, local economies and public access. Caucus members plan to bridge ideological divides and advance solutions to protect and manage public lands.
“Public lands are where I learned to fish, hunt, and connect with my family and culture—and those experiences shaped who I am,” said Rep. Vasquez. “These lands don’t belong to one party or one group of people; they belong to all of us.”
“I follow the Theodore Roosevelt motto that public lands are ‘for the benefit and enjoyment of the people,’ and that means making sure we both conserve and manage those lands to ensure public access for the next generation,” said Rep. Zinke. “Public lands aren’t red or blue issues, it’s red, white and blue.”
RMEF’s support of public lands, including helping create and make them accessible to the public, dates to its earliest days. In 1987, RMEF purchased the privately owned Robb Creek Ranch in southwest Montana, 17,167 acres of prime habitat for elk, mule and whitetail deer, moose, pronghorn antelope, black bears and other wildlife. One year later, in its first-ever land conservation and access project, RMEF conveyed the property to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Today, known as the Robb-Ledford Wildlife Management Area (see photo above), it now covers more than 28,000 acres and is open for hunting, fishing, trapping and other recreational activities.
Since its founding in 1984, RMEF completed more than 14,800 conservation and hunting heritage projects that conserved or enhanced more than 9.1 million acres of wildlife habitat. Those efforts also opened or improved public access to greater than 1.6 million acres.
(Photo source: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)