This Land is My Land (And Yours Too!)

[Bobw235]

A well-written and important piece from Nicholas Kristof, which contemplates the future of our national parks in America and the threats they face. For those who have experienced the beauty of our national parks, this will resonate with you.

It begins:

This Land Is My Land (And Yours, Too!)
Nicholas Kristof
Nicholas Kristof AUG. 20, 2016



Nicholas Kristof enjoying part of his inheritance (as an American citizen), a lake on the John Muir Trail in California. Credit Caroline Kristof

NOT to boast, but that image is me enjoying a pristine alpine lake I own in the California Sierras. It’s property so valuable that Bill Gates could never buy it. Yet it’s mine.


But wait! Don’t stalk off — it’s also yours! It’s part of America’s extraordinary, but now threatened, heritage of public lands. These lands are being starved of funds to sustain them and are the target of an ideological battle, with the new Republican Party platform arguing that certain federal lands should be handed over to the states. Which lands aren’t specified.


This objective is sad, because America was the first country in the world to take its most stunning scenic places and turn them into a shared space belonging to all — an element of what Wallace Stegner called America’s “best idea.”

 

[bluebreezes]

Bob, thanks for posting this article from the NY Times. I also strongly believe in protecting not only our national parks, but our state parks as well. They are a tremendous resource and will hopefully be there for generations to come. I live within an hour of approximately 8 state parks (and one within 10 minutes), and two hours from Acadia National Park. I can't imagine not having them to enjoy. Their accessibility makes life here more beautiful and provide easy, fun ways to enjoy being outdoors. I buy a state park pass every year and try to visit as many as I can, some more than once in the season.

Maybe a retirement trip to visit all our national parks is something to consider. It would certain fill up the camera storage.

 

[Carla]

They keep looking for ways to save money, don't they? It seems they want it both ways a lot of the time. They act as if the only responsibility of government is to collect taxes and wage war. What often happens is they pass things down to the state who then filters it down to county and local governments. A few years back, states were trying to sell or lease turnpikes and roads to private concerns. I say that because states aren't flushed--they may be forced to sell these beautiful parks. That would be a terrible mistake.

 

[tnthomas]

NOT to boast, but that image is me enjoying a pristine alpine lake I own in the California Sierras. It’s property so valuable that Bill Gates could never buy it. Yet it’s mine.

Beautiful!

That looks a lot like Silver Lake, on the June Lake Loop.