Crestone Eagle: Pyramid Mtn becomes the first mountain to own itself; Indigenous-led council to serve as guardian

Pyramid Mountain

The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER) developed the Land That Owns Itself program as the natural evolution of our pioneering work to protect the rights of nature.

Through this program, CDER has moved the first privately owned land in the U.S. into self-ownership by nature.

In June 2025, Pyramid Mountain in Colorado became the first mountain to own itself. A guardian council, with three Indigenous members and two members who were raised at the base of the mountain, was formed to represent the interests of the ecosystems within Pyramid Mountain.

CDER worked with our partners in our Sacred Contract coalition - Regenerative Earth and the Center for Ethical Land Transition - on this groundbreaking project.

The Crestone Eagle reported on Pyramid Mountain, quoting CDER’s Thomas Linzey:

“The ‘Land That Owns Itself’ is a revolutionary expression within the Western legal system of ecosystems being able to hold legal title to the land on which they exist. It is a rejection of a legal system in which ecosystems are treated as mere property, to be exploited by property owners as they see fit.” 

Read the full article here.