#public-land

Radar

Public Trust Feature Film | The Fight for America’s Public Lands

The latest from Patagonia resonates with the current administration’s mission to auction off public lands to the highest bidder. It’s a long one but well worth the watch. Here’s the synopsis:

“Despite support from voters across the political spectrum, our public lands face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political exposé, Public Trust investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through three heated conflicts—a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection.”

Take action to protect our public lands. Text DEFEND to 71333.

Radar

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act with Ecoflight and the Mojave Desert Land Trust

Yesterday I had the pleasure of accepting an invitation put out by the Mojave Desert Land Trust to partake in a 45-minute long flight from Palm Springs, across the Sand to Snow National Monument, across the Morongo Canyon Preserve, through Joshua Tree National Park, and back across the Little San Bernardino Mountains into Palm Springs on a Ecoflight single-engine Cessna 210…

Reportage By: Kurt Refsnider

A Brief History of our Federal Public Lands

In the United States, federally-owned public lands form the tapestry upon which so many recreationalists depend, as do agricultural, extractive, tourism, and hunting industries that support local economies. Beyond that, these lands have unquantifiable cultural, scientific, ecological, and scenic value. As cyclists, public lands offer literally endless miles of trails, 4×4 tracks, and gravel roads that can carry us off the pavement, away from crowds, and into landscapes as quiet and remote as we may desire. The United States is globally unique with respect to the vast tracts of lands still remaining in the public domain, lands that are managed for a broad array of uses by various agencies and beneath a dizzying array of special designations and associated acronyms. However, political efforts to eliminate some, or all, of these public lands serve to highlight how we as recreationalists cannot take these lands for granted.

Kurt Refsnider is here to provide a brief history of the vast expanse of America’s public lands that were set aside over two centuries ago to serve the national interest. Read on for a better understanding of the places where we most love to recreate!