Top 5 Reasons Why We Need Public Lands Right Now, and Always
The crackling of the fire is enticing as we stood with cold toes against the cold ground. The tent set-up, sleeping bag ready to embrace our bodies, but the stars were performing a show that could not be missed. You could hear crackling from a nearby fire by a lone wolf, but it was primarily the chatty trees as they swayed in the night.
We barely gained access to this camp area in the Willamette National Forest located in Central Oregon, as it is under a strict limited-access permit entry system by the Forest Service. Lucky we felt, grasping the last spots available for the entire day.
I couldn’t imagine how volatile I’d become if my family could no longer have access to this campground if the Forest Service one day decided to transfer ownership and sell it off. I’d be angry for many reasons, but primarily because it’d feel as if it was a personal attack on who I am, and the memories I cherish, and timing that by ten, because I’m not the only one with a story. There is a chorus of stories that are being dangled dangerously close to a flame splintering at the end of a match.
