My dad was a forest ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park before I was born. He and my mom raised my older brother there in the summers, in a tent. By the time I showed up, they knew every nook and cranny of the park, and we spent many weekends exploring the wilderness and climbing the peaks. Public lands have always been a part of my history. I never imagined people would not see the value of this national treasure: a place for all of us to share and enjoy.
I have been surprised and disappointed to see efforts by some federal and state legislators that would pave the way for public lands to be sold or otherwise taken out of public hands. The Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, brought forward by a Utah congressman, would make local sheriffs and law enforcement responsible for massive swaths of land. It doesn’t make sense to place that burden on small agencies that do not have the capacity and are not trained to manage natural resources. They should be able to stick to their most important responsibility: protecting public safety.
But delegating the care of public lands means more than just headaches for county sheriffs. It is deeply irresponsible. States and counties are not trained to take care of the wilderness, nor can they afford it. Putting such a huge financial burden on an already struggling government could mean that expenditures like education, transportation or health care could be stripped of money if we need to spend state funds to put out a forest fire. When the state or county goes broke, they could be forced to sell our lands to a private owner.
And we would no longer have access to land that used to belong to all of us.
Our bicyclists, sportsmen, fishermen and everyone who enjoys the multiple uses of federal lands would suffer. We deserve better.
Outdoor recreation is a major economic driver in Colorado. Recently, Gov. John Hickenlooper, Sen. Cory Gardner and Sen. Michael Bennet wrote a letter encouraging the Outdoor Retailer trade show to come to Colorado. After a 20-year run in Salt Lake City, OR is leaving because the Utah government has repeatedly undermined its public lands for short-term gain. Companies like Patagonia, that care about protecting nature, have decided it’s time to go elsewhere.
This land has been passed down with care to me, and I don’t want to shirk my responsibilities to my children. I want our rivers full of healthy trout and our forests teeming with wildlife for generation after generation.
So when our politicians, like myself, say they care about public lands, we need to hold them accountable for protecting them.
In other news ... The Denver Channel is coming to Durango!
Bipartisanship can work! Democrats and Republicans alike fought for many years, and finally encouraged the Federal Communications Commission to allow satellite providers to offer Denver TV in La Plata County.
We will be able to see that John Hickenlooper, not Susana Martinez, is our governor, and we will all be able to keep in touch with what’s happening in the rest of our state.
People should always have the opportunity to be connected and informed with what their government is doing.
Barbara McLachlan represents House District 59 in Colorado’s General Assembly. The district encompasses La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Ouray and Hinsdale counties and part of Gunnison County. Reach her at barbara.mclachlan.house@state.co.us. During the legislative session, McLachlan and Sen. Don Coram share this column on alternate weeks.
