Public land is under attack. Here's why it matters.
By Ryan Sparks, Quail Forever Journal Editor
There are few things more American than public land. Not in the flag-waving, fireworks-on-the-fourth-of-July sense, but in a deeper, quieter way that speaks to who we are when the noise fades and we stand alone beneath a boundless sky.
Public lands are the purest expression of freedom this country has ever offered. Mountains, forests, deserts, prairies – places where titles and bank accounts don’t matter. Where anyone, no matter their name or means, can step into wild country and claim nothing but the experience it provides.
That’s not just rare. That’s revolutionary.
In a world that puts a price tag on everything, America carved out millions of acres and said, This belongs to everyone . Not kings, not corporations – everyone.
That idea is as radical and bold as anything written by our founding fathers.
For those of us who hunt, fish, hike, or simply breathe a little easier with dirt under our boots, public lands aren’t just places on a map. They’re where we forge our connection to something bigger than ourselves. They’re where we pass down traditions to sons and daughters. Where friendships are built around campfires and covey rises.
Public lands are our heritage. But more importantly, they are our legacy. The North American Model of Conservation – built on the revolutionary notion that wildlife belongs to the people, not the privileged – only works because of these lands. Without them, there is no access, no habitat, no birds to hunt.
Without public lands, conservation is a theory reserved for the wealthy.
These lands are where healthy numbers of wild birds still exist, and where we and our children after us learn about ourselves, the world, and our place in it.
These lands remind us that wild country and public land isn’t a luxury – it’s a birthright.
But birthrights can be forgotten. They can be sold off in quiet deals or chipped away at by indifference. That’s why it falls to us – not just as hunters and conservationists, but as Americans – to defend them. To pass them forward, undiminished, to those who follow.
Selling public land is a short-sighted bargain – a one-time check in exchange for something that should last forever. When we sell public land, we don’t just lose acres; we lose opportunity, freedom, and a renewable legacy that can generate value year after year.
Timber harvests, grazing leases, hunting, fishing, tourism – these are steady streams of income for rural communities, and our nation at large, that flow only if we hold the land in trust.
Sell it, and that door closes forever. What was once ours becomes fenced, posted, degraded, and gone – not just for us, but for every generation that follows.
Our children. Our grandchildren. On and on.
When I walk on public land, my bird dog quartering ahead of me, I’m not just hunting. I’m walking in the footsteps of generations who believed that some things are too valuable to sell. That true wealth is measured in open horizons, the freedom to roam, and wild birds flushing across public land.
Public lands make this country great – not because they’re ours to sell, but because they’re ours to enjoy. In them lives the best of who we are: free, wild, and forever tied to the land we call home.
Right now, the threat to our public lands is as real and urgent as it has ever been in the history of our country.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah has said he intends to reintroduce provisions authorizing the sale of public lands through the Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill – a backdoor tactic that would allow vast swaths of public land to be sold to the highest bidder. Once they are sold, we can never hunt, fish, or hike there again.
One voice alone might not have an influence, but collectively, we are a force to be reckoned with.
Follow the link below and also call your senator. Not just once. Call every day this week. It takes less than five minutes. Let them know public lands matter. Tell them why they personally matter to you. Let them know that America’s hunters aren’t backing down without a fight. Not now. Not ever.
Click here to let your senators know how you feel about public land. When you are done, call 202-224-3121 and ask to speak with your state's senators in Washington, D.C. You don’t even need to know their name. The operator will connect you with their office. It is the most important thing you will do today.