About the Dispatches project
At the end of August, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is scheduled to release a report with recommendations on the fate of our public lands, specifically 27 of America’s national monuments targeted by the Trump administration for size reduction, management changes or full revocation.
The review comes at a time when protected wildlands from Maine to California are more popular than ever, consistently breaking attendance records and receiving support from a wide range of business and religious leaders, scientists, historians, and veterans, as well as youth and public health advocates.
This review is an attack on public lands that strikes at the heart of rural communities where people live, work, hike, hunt, fish and care for the public lands in and around these national monuments.
What do Americans think about Trump’s call for a review of these lands that belong to us all?
This summer, The Wilderness Society dispatched journalist Nate Schweber to national monument gateway communities in Arizona, Utah, Montana and Maine to gauge the pulse of rural America. Nate is talking to a broad array of local residents, asking about their connection with the national monuments and how they are affected by the Trump administration’s review. We invite you to hear the their stories: https://medium.com/dispatches-real-stories-from-americas-national
About the journalist
Nate Schweber is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice and Anthony Bourdain’s “Explore Parts Unknown.” He is also the author of the 2012 book, “Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park.” Born and raised in Missoula, Montana, he now lives in Brooklyn, NY.
