Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.
A few weeks ago, I watched a pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park with perhaps several dozen other visitors.
Everyone was excited to glimpse one of the Park’s packs. People with scopes and telephoto lenses shared the view. “Here, take a look through my scope,” was a familiar invitation.
The group’s camaraderie reminded me of one of the critical attributes of public lands: Our public lands bring people together.
As we stood watching the wolves, no one was talking about politics. I’m sure there were Republicans and Democrats in the group. There were likely millionaires standing beside folks who struggled to make ends meet each month. People from different races, religions, and ethnicities were together as neighbors, enjoying the public lands. This was democracy in action.
We were all united in our love and passion for public lands. In this time of political discord and divisions, is there anything in our society that brings more people from different backgrounds together than our public lands? Where else do you find people helping each other just because it is the right thing to do?
While we may disagree about how public lands are managed, I think most Americans recognize that they are part of our nation’s heritage.
While we may all recognize that our public lands are valuable as wildlife habitats, recreation areas, water storage, carbon storage, and biodiversity protection, they are also part of America’s democratic traditions.
Any attempts to sell off or transfer public lands to private ownership is an attack on America’s fundamental value of equal opportunity and access for all. We must protect our public lands from all assaults on public ownership so we can continue to share what they preserve and represent as the best features of American culture.