Opinion: Support Our Public Lands

BY EMMA HOSKINS

Lately, it feels like every day brings more bad news for our public lands. But Friday, February 14th hit especially hard. In a single day, roughly 5,000 public land employees lost their jobs: 1,000 from the National Park Service, 3,400 from the U.S. Forest Service, and even more from the Bureau of Land Management and USDA.

We’re already feeling the effects. Yosemite’s campground reservations are on hold indefinitely. Visitor’s centers are cutting hours or shutting down completely. Trail maintenance, fire prevention work, and backcountry patrols have been slashed. And this isn’t new. Our public land agencies have been understaffed and underfunded for years. Since 2010, national park staffing has dropped by 20%, even as visitation has gone up by 16%, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. And these numbers will only get worse given the recent reductions.

In response, we’ve seen the birth of the Resistance Rangers movement. They launched the Protect Your Parks protest on Wednesday, February 26th. With just three days’ notice, on March 1st, nearly 13,000 people showed up at 179 locations nationwide to stand in solidarity with public lands managers who lost their jobs and demand rangers be reinstated.

Public lands are more than just places to pitch a tent or snap a scenic photo. They fuel local economies, contributing $55.6 billion annually, according to the National Park Service. They are cultural touchstones, biodiversity strongholds, and sanctuaries for all who seek them.

But they are under siege.

So as you plan your summer adventures, think about what’s at stake. Support those fighting for our public lands. Learn how to Leave No Trace, be self-sufficient, and take care of these spaces, because if we lose the stewards who protect them, we might lose the places we love.