Sierra Club urging Democrats to adopt Cory Gardner's outdoors bill

The Sierra Club has a new ad out thanking the House Democrats who are supporting a Senate Republican's bill. That senator is incumbent Republican Cory Gardner.

Gardner faces a tough re-election campaign against the winner of tomorrow's Democratic primary between former Gov. John Hickenlooper and former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Gardner is riding the momentum of passing the Great American Outdoors Act, the most significant federal public lands bill in at least a generation, out of the Senate this month. The bill is pending in the Democratically controlled House, but Gardner has lined up bipartisan support and an agreement from President Trump to sign the bill into law.

The act fully appropriates the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the pot of money for national parks and forests, zeroed out by Trump in 2017.

The Sierra Club released a series of ads Monday urging Colorado's Democratic House members — Jason Crow of Aurora, Diana Degette of Denver and Joe Neguse of Boulder County — to "continue pushing" for a vote.

The separate ads for each member nor a press release mentions Gardner or Republican House members (Ken Buck of Windsor, Scott Tipton of Cortez and Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs), nor Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Arvada.

The ads are expected to run statewide on social media and streaming platforms through next weekend.

“The Great American Outdoors Act will help Colorado’s outdoor recreation and tourism economy and protect our public lands now and for the next generation, Emily Gedeon, acting chapter director for the Colorado Sierra Club, said in a statement Monday. “Advancing the conservation values in the Act is an investment in Colorado’s recovering economy and public health, and Colorado’s Congressional delegation should take action immediately and pass it.”

Reached for comment by Colorado Politics, Gardner noted the Senate voted on a bipartisan 73-25 count to pass the act on June 17.

He expects the House to vote on the bill in July.

"This bill is not only one of the single greatest conservation achievements in a generation, but also a lifeline to mountain towns and recreation communities hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said Monday. "I’m calling on the House of Representatives to pass the Great American Outdoors Act without delay in order to provide jobs to the American people, economic stimulus to communities in need, and protections for the great American outdoors for future generations to cherish.”

Watch the Sierra Club ad for Neguse by clicking here.