“Public lands embody America’s promise of liberty and democracy”
Chase Gunnell is the communications director for Conservation Northwest in Seattle, Washington.
Dear public lands (and waters!): your importance for me and my family became all the more clear during Washington state’s recent “Stay Home” order in response to COVID-19. I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle and have lived and worked in the city for more than a decade, but I relish every opportunity to experience the close-to-home nature the Evergreen State is known for: fishing and crabbing in my kayak from city parks, hunting and backpacking on national forests in the Cascade Mountains, or boating, diving and gathering shellfish in the San Juan Islands National Monument.
The city may be my home, but public lands and waters are the habitat I depend on. They’re where I go to find solace and sustenance, to connect with friends and family. My elders have taught me so much about the outdoors — most importantly, to feel a part of the natural world, not apart from it.
These connections to the public lands, waters and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest have always been a major part of my life, but without access to them for much of March and April, their importance for mental and physical health became very apparent.
My love of public lands and waters began as a child when my father would take me out on a boat onto Puget Sound. I was barely five or six, bundled in a life jacket half-awake on the floor of our little boat, barely more than a dingy. I’ll never forget the quiet of those gray mornings, interrupted only by little splashes of herring breaking the surface, the calls of gulls or the blow of porpoises, and the muffled sounds of other boats in search of salmon passing just out of sight. The world would shrink to a sphere around our boat and the water below, and it was perfect.
Then, misty tranquility would give way to frantic excitement as my dad’s rod doubled over, a big Chinook bulldogging into the depths or a coho tail-walking across the surface. He’d hand me the pole and hold on to keep me from being pulled overboard. If we were lucky, he’d net a bright fish broad-shouldered and fresh from the north Pacific, and I’d marvel at its chrome sides, hues of black and purple against a green back, and brilliant eyes, before proudly showing off my catch to other anglers at the dock and to my mom as she prepared the BBQ. For our working-class family, this memory, and the meals that followed, were only possible because we had access to public lands and waters.
Public lands embody America’s promise of liberty and democracy: these are everyone’s lands, and it’s up to all of us to conserve, steward and share them. Whether you’re rich or poor, everyone has the freedom to wander the woods, hike the trails, fish or float the rivers, and otherwise enjoy our natural heritage in a responsible way that resonates with them. Today, we need to create more opportunities for people of all means and backgrounds to access and learn about these wild places, as well as working to instill a conservation ethic that promotes public lands not just as playgrounds, but as complex ecosystems critical to diverse fish, wildlife and human communities. People like me depend on public lands, but we also have a responsibility to pass along our appreciation for these lands, waters and wildlife to future generations, as well as those who may not have had the same opportunities to enjoy the natural heritage they too own through our public trust.
Right now, Congress is poised to pass the Great American Outdoors Act. It will create jobs, conserve wildlife habitat, and expand outdoor recreation opportunities. It is exactly what our nation needs for healing right now from the COVID-19 pandemic and it is what future generations need to ensure they can enjoy our cherished public lands and waters.
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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 (LWCF). Congress is poised to permanently fund it as part of the Great American Outdoors Act. Follow the movement along at #FundLWCF. Learn more here. Better yet, take action here.
