KSJD Local News - March 5, 2025

Impacts to ranching and tourism. Those were among the major concerns voiced by demonstrators at local events on Saturday and Monday. About 85 people gathered outside the Mesa Verde National Park Visitor Center on Saturday, and about 50 showed up at the Dolores Public Lands Office in a snowstorm Monday to voice support for public-lands employees. While trying to shrink the size of the federal government, the Trump administration has fired numerous National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management employees. At the Dolores Public Lands Office, a fired BLM employee, Ryan Schroeder, said if public lands are sold off – which has been discussed – it will be disastrous for ranchers. He said that’s because grazing permits on state or private lands cost about a thousand percent of what they cost on federal land. At the Mesa Verde gathering, various speakers said they support trimming government fat, but it’s being done too rapidly and thoughtlessly. They noted that half a million visitors come to Mesa Verde every year and worried what will happen when there isn’t enough staff to lead tours, clean bathrooms, and handle the entrance stations. Jim Law of Mancos said, “You may love the park, but there’s a financial argument here.” The demonstrators walked out singing the Woody Guthrie song, “This Land Is Your Land.”