Western Slope county commissioners met with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper at Top of the Pines outside of Ridgway Saturday, advocating for the passage of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, which proposes protections for about 400,000 acres of public land in the state.

The measure was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in February as part of the ​Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act. It has passed there tw...