Public Lands Day

A Celebration of our Green Spaces & Cultural Sites

Driving up an extremely steep, tiny dirt road in a full size conversion van just outside Badlands National Park, we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. When we reached the top edge of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, it was like the world had magically opened up this huge crater of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles right in front of our eyes. It is so beautiful it can instantly take your breath away. Herds of Bison grazed in the distance while Big Horn Sheep climbed the rock formations along the rim. We parked on the top of the South Dakota world that evening by ourselves, watching the sunset over the other-worldly landscape turn into a million star motel, just for us.

This was our first night camping off the grid on BLM Land. Ever since, its been a priority while traveling to visit and stay at as many public lands as possible because these are our natural and cultural treasures, places so unreal that photos really cannot do it justice. We’ve stayed the night in several National Grasslands, National Forests, National Recreation Areas, National Parks and places seemingly in the middle of nowhere, all a part of public lands in the US. Usually it is at zero cost making travels even more affordable. But, you must be prepared for camping off the grid as there are no services or amenities so what you bring in is what you have. If you do a lot of traveling off the grid, absolutely look into having a satellite phone just in case. And always remember, everything you bring in must be taken out with you! Leave No Trace, friends.

Today is National Public Lands Day which is a celebration of our green spaces, promoting the enjoyment and conservation of our Public Lands. This year’s theme is "More Ways to Connect to Nature" which makes perfect sense as this year more people than ever have been going outside and taking part of outdoor activities in the year of Covid. Nature is a place that is perfect for social distancing and greatly improves our physical and mental health. The National Parks are celebrating with free admission today and many public land spaces are organizing in-person and virtual stewardship events as a way to give back to these places that do so much for us.

640 million acres of land is managed by the US Government between the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

These areas includes our National Parks, National Monuments, National Historic Trails, Wild and Scenic Riverways, Wilderness Areas, National Conservation Areas, National Lakeshores and National Seashores, National Parkways, National Memorials, National Recreation Areas, National Scenic Trails, National Forests, National Grasslands, and National Wildlife Refuges.

Public lands are held in trust for the American people by the federal government, thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt and his conservation group, the Boone and Crockett Club, who started this designation and began to shape the conservation of public lands.

It is a balance of keeping many people from different walks of life happy now and in the future with its land use. Whether you are a camper, hiker, climber, hunter, fisherman, rancher, or work in the oil and gas field, all have the right to make use of this land being that its a part of public domain. It is a constant juggle to attempt to get all users happy about the use of these lands, though many times it ends up being battles fought in the court system.

“All US public lands are the ancestral lands of Indigenous people and tribal nations, who managed them sustainably for thousands of years. Today, many of these lands are at risk of unwise development and extraction, but local people are leading the movement to protect them. Its up to us to hold our government responsible.”* This is the basis of the new documentary out today, in celebration of Public Lands Day, called Public Trust. *from www.Patagonia.com

Produced by Robert Redford and Patagonia co-founder Yvon Chouinard, this film focuses on just a few imperative battles currently going on in courts over Public Lands. This includes shrinking the size of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah by 85%, the potential devastation in the Boundary Waters due to the restart of copper-sulfate mining in the area, and the sale of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last truly wild places in America. Currently some people in power are prioritizing making money with our Public Lands tipping the scale a little too far to one side.

The size of these lands may change as the times change and different people are put into positions of power. Sometimes Public Lands lean heavy on the acquiring of natural resources such as coal and oil, and other times the Public Lands focus more on the conservation and recreation side of use. Whatever your connection is to our Public Lands, it is imperative that you stay informed with the news and whats is happening with them. They are our lands after all and we have a say in it. A working balance is hard to come by when so many people have different goals. That is why these lands have been in the news so much and will continue to be long into the future. With climate change, new recreation uses and equipment, potential new energy sources, new endangered species and national/global programs will all effect how future generations will be able to use these American treasures.

Our Public Lands