A bipartisan bill to allow members of two Colorado Ute Tribes free access to Colorado's state parks was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis last week.
House Bill 25-1163 "Free Access to State Parks for Colorado Ute Tribes" was introduced on Feb. 3 before passing 63-1 on April 14. It was introduced in the Senate the following day and passed 31-4 on May 6. The bill was signed by both the president of the Senate and speaker of the House before Polis signed it into law on Thursday.
HB 25-1163 allows enrolled members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to enter state parks without paying for the entrance fee. Tribe members must have and show a current tribal identification card.
In a statement Southern Ute Indian Tribe posted on Facebook in February, ahead of the bill signing, a spokesperson said they were pleased to learn it had passed out of a committee.
"This bill, sponsored by Representatives Katie Stewart and Rick Taggert, recognizes the Ute Tribes as the original stewards of these lands, honoring our deep historical and cultural ties to the natural resources within Colorado’s state parks," the statement reads. "For countless generations, the Nuuchiu have utilized and respected these lands, waters, and wildlife. The ability to freely access these parks is crucial for Tribal Members to continue our responsibility to care for these lands, as our ancestors have done for centuries."
However, HB 25-1163 only applies to the two tribes listed in the bill: Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. On May 7, the Ute Business Committee, which is the governing body of the Ute Indian Tribe, condemned the bill "based on its thinly veiled attempts to erase Ute Indian Tribe history and its infringement upon the Tribe's inherent sovereignty and treaty rights," it said. The committee had previously proposed amending the bill to include the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.
However, the bill advanced without this amendment.
This move "disregards the Tribe's deep historical connection and presence in its ancestral homelands across Colorado and seeks to employ the oldest trick in the colonial handbook 'divide and conquer' amongst these three historic stewards of this territory," the Ute Business Committee posted.
In the Southern Ute Tribe's February statement, the spokesperson recognized this.
"While we recognize the advocacy from other Tribes for expanded access, this legislation reflects the distinct sovereign-to-sovereign relationship between the State of Colorado and the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes, whose traditional territories lie within Colorado," the post reads. "We believe this bill serves as a valuable model and encourages other Tribal Nations to build similar partnerships with the states where their reservations are located."
The bill requires Colorado Parks and Wildlife to continue to engage tribal groups and Indigenous communities about opportunities connected with state parks, including the free admission.
This outreach must be detailed during the Colorado Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) SMART Act hearing. In these hearings, all state departments are required to present performance plans, agendas and budget requests during the first two weeks of the legislative session.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR), like all state departments, must present performance plans, agendas and budget requests during the first two weeks of the legislative session, per Colorado's SMART Act, and HB 25-1163 requires the DNR to provide an update on the outreach to the tribes and others in both January 2026 and 2027.
The bill's prime sponsors are Democrats Rep. Katie Stewart and Sen. Dylan Roberts, and Republicans Rep. Rick Taggart and Sen. Cleave Simpson.
Colorado has more than 40 state parks across the state. Explore them on CPW's website here.
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