Proud To Be An American Outdoorsman
By Kirk Deeter
I have been very fortunate to have a career that takes me throughout the world, fishing and hunting, and writing stories about those adventures. But while the exotic certainly captivates the mind, those that happen on American soil — public lands that we all own — live in my heart.
In fact, it strikes me that when I speak with dedicated anglers and hunters from other countries, they almost all share a sense of awe for the vast amounts of lands and waters that all Americans (and visitors) can access.
Public lands are indeed, arguably, one of this country’s greatest ideas.
That anyone could conceive of giving them away, or selling them off is shameful. Not just a bad idea. Shameful.
Most of my favorite fishing adventures took place the high country in the Rockies. I can’t tell you the name of most creeks, because there were no signs. I didn’t catch monster trout, but then again I’d trade a thousand fat, stocked trout for one wily native. The best part of all was the price I paid to get there, a sweat and maybe some sore feet.
Who can argue when the price of solitude is a hike?
The same can be said for elk hunts, hikes, skiing in the backcountry and many other diversions that were only possible because of public lands.
And now I am sharing those things with my son. I beam at the thought that he will be able to share the experiences with his grandchildren too, and I shudder at the thought that others would take that away for short-term gain.
So I definitely side with the National Wildlife Federation, and I pledge to support public lands. It is imperative that our elected officials, and anyone who seeks political office, do the same.
It strikes me that the same people who want to give away these amazing resources will be the ones who also complain loudest that our kids are out of shape… that they have attention disorders… that they are absorbed by social media. So many good things can happen when children walk on more than pavement.
Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Let’s never get this close again.
From the NWF Sportsmen team: We are working hard in these last days of the election to make sure our elected officials and candidates know that protecting public lands is a priority for hunters and anglers across the country. You can suggest this post by liking it below. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sign up for our National Wildlife Federation Sportsmen Newsletter.
You can take the pledge to protect our public hands, and ask your candidates to do the same, at www.nwf.org/pledgeforpubliclands.
Kirk Deeter is a veteran of the fly-fishing industry, and is the editor of TROUT Magazine, the signature publication of Trout Unlimited . He has produced award-winning stories from around the world, and co-authored the best-selling Little Red Book of Fly Fishing.
