I will never comprehend those who want to sell off our public lands; or those who support others that want to do that. We talk about things like patriotism, freedom and use other words to describe what it is that we want. Public lands are the very source of many of those things. The term “conservation” and public lands go hand in hand. Conservation is a word that I don’t hear as much any more, and I’m wondering; is it an inconvenience to us? A minimal definition of conservation is: prevention of wasteful use of a resource. When it comes to applying this to public lands, where is the support?
I am witnessing a sell off, in its own right, of our public lands by witnessing the “riffing” of many natural resource professionals. Is this what we want? Who wants that and why? These are the people that have faithfully carried out your past wishes, to use their talents to ensure that we are not wasting this “resource.” Or, perhaps that was what you voted for, and perhaps your representative didn’t get that message.
Why do you live here? Is it for the lands around you that you are free to roam and play, to hunt and fish, to recreate with your family? What is your reasoning behind you not supporting the efforts to maintain and enhance them? Instead, it seems like many continue to think of them as the “Commons,” to be used and managed as we see fit. That is not me. I see the value that some perhaps do not see, which is the value of the word itself: Conservation!
These lands could be so much more valuable that they are currently. Instead, it seems like we only value what it is that we can take from them and turn into currency. Once they are gone, they are gone. They are OUR public lands. We need the people that have managed them and are continuing to try to do so.
These lands are the places as well, where we can learn many things, such as how best to manage them. Do you really think that is happening? Over the years politics, guided by people who think they are representing you, have taken from you, and it’s only now how obvious that has become.
I would encourage everyone who cares about these places to just witness what is becoming of them. Did we manage this time to halt any wholesale of them? Yes, but when you dismantle them by taking away the managers, you might as well just look ahead to a time when you may witness the very reason that our past generations came here. In that era, only the rich, the wealthy were able to access them. I would strongly encourage you to fight for these lands and the people who manage them. Some of those folks may have “conservation” in their job titles but where do they stand on the issue? Encourage your local law makers and planners to ensure that these lands are both protected from sale and managed well.
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