25 signatures reached
To: Senator Mike Lee, Republican lawmakers from red states in the West
Keep Their Hands off Public Lands!
I will keep this simple.
As a child of the American West, it breaks my heart beyond words to think of our beautiful public lands, arguably the greatest treasure the United States has, being sold off to private interests. I grew up camping on BLM land and in national forests, as I am sure you did too. Some of my fondest childhood and adult memories are of my adventures in the great American wilderness, often on land that was not protected within a national park, and I know I am not alone in this sentiment. Plain and simple, there is no amount of money that is worth the destruction of the countless natural wonders that not only attract millions of visitors to our nation every year, but that also fill our own American hearts with wonder. If we allow our public lands to be sold off, we will never be able to get them back, at least not in the same pristine state, and I do not believe this is something most Americans want, regardless of their politics. Please do not be short-sighted. There are so many ways to make money, but there is only one way to make a canyon, and it takes millions of years.
As a child of the American West, it breaks my heart beyond words to think of our beautiful public lands, arguably the greatest treasure the United States has, being sold off to private interests. I grew up camping on BLM land and in national forests, as I am sure you did too. Some of my fondest childhood and adult memories are of my adventures in the great American wilderness, often on land that was not protected within a national park, and I know I am not alone in this sentiment. Plain and simple, there is no amount of money that is worth the destruction of the countless natural wonders that not only attract millions of visitors to our nation every year, but that also fill our own American hearts with wonder. If we allow our public lands to be sold off, we will never be able to get them back, at least not in the same pristine state, and I do not believe this is something most Americans want, regardless of their politics. Please do not be short-sighted. There are so many ways to make money, but there is only one way to make a canyon, and it takes millions of years.
Why is this important?
If we let our public lands get sold to private interests, we will lose access to places we have long taken for granted. Campsites will be gone. Trails will be impacted. Water and air quality will likely be undermined. Animals will die. Communities that rely on nature-related tourism will take a grave economic hit. Our international tourism, and therefore our economy, will severely decline. Most importantly though, one of the things that makes this nation so special -our tremendously vast and pristine wilderness- will be irreversibly diminished and harmed. We cannot let this happen. Please sign this petition and join the fight to protect our public lands.