Public Lands Day came and went last Saturday, Sept. 27. It’s meant for celebration – of parks, forests, and monuments that belong to all of us; of the staff who safeguard them; and of communities, like ours, whose economies depend on them. Instead, this year’s observance was bittersweet. Congress and the Trump administration have turned our shared natural and cultural inheritance into collateral damage through political games and ideological assaults.
The consequences of the federal shutdown on Wednesday were immediate. Mesa Verde National Park closed nearly all facilities, turning away out-of-state visitors like David Hurley who, with his wife Annie, said because of their age, “It is a big deal, because we’ll never get back to experience this” (Herald, Oct. 1). Canyons of the Ancients has seen similar disruptions, and New Mexico’s Aztec Ruins and Chaco Culture National Historic Park are shutting down. For local businesses, this means canceled reservations and lost revenue. For rangers and other staff, it means furloughs and uncertainty.
While Colorado Gov. Jared Polis vowed to keep parks open for tourism, conservationists warn that unstaffed parks are vulnerable. Leaving ancient ruins and resources unmonitored is not stewardship – it is courting disaster. Tribes in the Four Corners remind us Mesa Verde’s sites are not “ruins,” but the living homes of their ancestors. Without rangers, who will prevent damage to these sacred and fragile sites from visitors who may pocket artifacts or carve initials into sandstone?
Though the American public and a majority of representatives stopped the sale of public lands, the shutdown is only the latest front in a broader assault. The Trump administration has slashed staff at the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service – the NPS is furloughing 9,300 of 14,500 workers; attempted to roll back protections like the Roadless Rule protecting 45 million acres of forest service lands; and advanced policies favoring oil and gas drilling, and mining. Secretarial orders have targeted national monuments, restricted the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Big Beautiful Bill weakens air quality protections, guts climate programs, and tilts oil and gas leasing further toward corporations over conservation.
This ideology is also evident in the attempted repeal of the BLM’s Conservation and Landscape Health “Public Lands Rule,” finalized in April 2024. The rule was a modest but long-overdue effort to balance conservation with traditional uses like grazing, recreation, and energy development through restoration and mitigation leases, without restricting existing uses. The Interior Department moved to repeal it, arguing it “exceeded the BLM’s statutory authority,” even though over 90% of public commenters supported it. A 60-day comment period closes Nov. 10. If the rule is repealed, it would further silence local voices and leave federal rangelands threatened by the status quo.
In contrast, local communities are standing firmly behind public lands. Durango and La Plata County joined more than 60 Western communities affirming their support of public lands. City of Durango Mayor Gilda Yazzie said, “Public lands are what makes Durango such an amazing place to live … once they’re gone, they’re never coming back.” Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton highlighted that La Plata County was proud to be the first to pass a pro-public lands resolution.
While Republicans and Democrats trade blame, ordinary Americans are the ones paying the price: rangers at Mesa Verde are furloughed without pay, families are turned away at the gate, and small businesses lose customers. At the same time, four million Americans could lose health insurance because Republicans refuse to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits. If Trump gets his way, temporary furloughs will be used to justify deep, permanent agency cuts for thousands of workers, hollowing out the very institutions charged with protecting America’s national treasures.
Citizens can contact Congress to oppose the shutdown and rollbacks, support funding for federal land agencies, and advocate for permanent staffing to protect parks, monuments, and cultural sites. Austerity is not our future. America’s greatness has always come from investment – in our parks, infrastructure, and public servants. The shutdown, lay offs and push to repeal conservation rules are deliberate ideological choices, not fiscal discipline.
On Public Lands Day, we should have been celebrating our shared inheritance. Instead, we are fighting to defend it from political assassination of another kind. Public lands are our greatest asset. They sustain our economy, culture, and communities. They deserve better – and we all have a role in protecting them.
