My Family has a Special Connection to Western Public Lands

Senator Tom Udall, the senior U.S. Senator from New Mexico, describes his family’s long history of public lands advocacy.

My father, former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, wrote in a letter to his grandchildren: “Cherish sunsets, wild creatures and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth.” Those are words that have inspired my life and my life’s work, and that are especially resonant as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

My family homesteaded in the West almost 180 years ago. We have roots in Utah, Arizona, my home state of New Mexico, and in Colorado. Westerners have a special connection to the land. Sixty-mile vistas, snow-covered rugged mountains, alpine lakes and mountain streams, acres of gorgeous, untamed beauty and abundant wildlife right in our backyards. The great western writer Wallace Stegner called the West “the geography of hope.” It sure is for me — and my family.

For my whole life, I have enjoyed — and made great use of — our nation’s public lands, in New Mexico and across the West. I remember fondly my family’s many vacations across the Southwest and the West as a teenager. I cherish the time I’ve spent at Canyonlands, Chaco Canyon, family rafting trips down the Colorado River, visits to the Grand Canyon, trips to Grand Teton National Park, the Wind River Range in Wyoming, and so many other places — all of them etched in my memory.

I recently marked what would have been my father’s 100th birthday. As I’ve been reflecting on my dad’s legacy, there is so much we can — and must — learn from his vision. In 1963–57 years ago — my dad warned the nation about what he called The Quiet Crisis. He saw the creeping destruction of nature, and wrote, “Each generation has its own rendezvous with the land, for despite our fee titles and claims of ownership, we are all brief tenants on this planet. By choice, or by default, we will carve out a land legacy for our heirs.” To ensure that our public lands remain abundant for generations to come, we must do everything in our power to protect them.

Right now, we are facing dual climate and nature crises — and the Earth has never been in greater danger. We are losing species and natural habitats at unprecedented rates in human history. A comprehensive U.N. biodiversity study found that one million species risk extinction. The crisis of nature and the crisis of climate change have risen to a crescendo. A sixth mass extinction is upon us, and it will accelerate, unless we preserve space for nature. We must act now to protect the natural world before we lose it.

That’s why I’ve introduced the Thirty by Thirty Resolution to Save Nature — to protect 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030 — and more in the coming decades. This is the science-backed target around which we must organize. And we must tackle climate change with everything we have and transition from fossil fuels to net zero carbon pollution using the principles of equity and inclusion to guide our work.

The challenge is great but public support for conservation and climate action is stronger than ever. During this difficult time for the world, we see just how interconnected we all are. And with that energy, we can get this done — and save the planet for future generations.

So many of our country’s parks and public lands written about in these love notes would not exist but for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It’s why Congress should fund the program permanently. Follow the movement along at #FundLWCF. Learn more here.…………………………………………………………………………………….

Would you like to write about public lands that you cherish? Please email Mary Jo Brooks at brooksm@nwf.org for guidelines.