🌿 Public Lands Belong to Us: What They Are & How You Can Help Protect Them

Public lands aren’t just scenic—they’re sacred. They’re memory and medicine. They’re where we gather, grow, grieve, and get free. From forests and coastlines to city parks and ancestral trails, these spaces hold our stories.

And they need us. Right now.

🌍 What Are Public Lands?

Across the U.S., over 640 million acres of land are held in public trust. That includes:

• BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands stewarded for mixed use—often lands with Indigenous roots
• National Parks (NPS) full of cultural sites, healing waters, and biodiversity
• USFS & USFWS managed trails, habitats, and wildlife sanctuaries

But “public” doesn’t always mean protected, and access isn’t always equitable. Budget cuts, staffing losses, and corporate interests are chipping away at what belongs to us all.

⚠️ What’s at Risk: The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”

This sweeping budget bill, already passed by Congress, includes provisions that threaten ecosystems, access, and climate resilience:

🚨 Provision	💥 Impact
Quarterly fossil fuel lease sales	Drilling in the Western Arctic & Gulf, climate harm
Logging contracts on public lands	Forest exploitation, wildfire vulnerability
$900M cut to NPS funding	Closure of visitor centers, ranger layoffs
Twin Metals mining reinstated	Pollution risk near Boundary Waters
Rollback of conservation funding	Setback for restoration, Indigenous land protection

These aren’t line items—they’re lived consequences.

✊🏽 Why It Matters (Especially for Us)

• We gather here. Our joy, resistance, and ancestral connection are rooted in the land.
• We heal here. From womb walks to wild swims, nature nurtures.
• We teach here. Kids deserve trails, not just tablets.

If these spaces close, shrink, or degrade, we lose more than access. We lose cultural continuity and power.

🛠️ What You Can Do Right Now (Even Without a Backpack)

📞 Contact Your Reps. Let them know you oppose the bill's harmful provisions. Here's a message to start with:

“I oppose budget cuts and development mandates in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Public lands should be preserved for access, equity, and environmental justice, not sold off or stripped. I urge you to fully fund the NPS and defend our shared spaces.”

🧤 Volunteer & Steward Locally. Trail cleanups, garden builds, storytelling circles—every action counts. Look out for National Public Lands Day this September.

💸 Give & Amplify. Support organizations like:

Outdoor Afro
Native Land Digital
Trust for Public Land
Your favorite Black-led outdoor org (Camping Noire, for example)

🧘🏾 Practice Everyday Stewardship. Leave no trace. Teach young ones to walk with reverence. Rest outside with intention. Let joy be your protest.

📢 Stay Loud. Share this post. Slide it into your newsletter. Turn it into a Threads series. Tag your reps. Ask brands where they stand.

📚 Bonus Resources

Here’s where you can learn more and take direct action:

• Outdoor Alliance: Bill Breakdown
• Wilderness Society: Land Sale Alerts
• TRCP Guide for Hunters & Advocates
• Mountains to Sound Greenway Toolkit

These lands are ours. Not just to use—but to protect, shape, and hold with love.

Let’s speak up. Show up. And keep joy rooted in the soil.