After mandatory public land sales were removed from budget reconciliation legislation earlier this summer thanks to tens of thousands of hunters and anglers like you, TRCP staff took to public lands to enjoy places they cherish and celebrate the victory. Below are their stories

From Chelsea Pardo, Alaska Senior Program Manager

Over the 4th of July holiday, I was fortunate to float the Kenai River in Alaska. The Kenai is the longest river on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska and is known for its striking turquoise water and salmon runs.

We packed me, my sister and brother-in-law, and two dogs into the raft and set off on our float. We caught sockeye salmon already well into their spawning transformation as they made their way toward Skilak Lake, and I also landed a rainbow trout, shimmering with incredible colors! Our toughest fishing competition was the grizzly bears along the riverbank.

Throughout the weekend, I felt deep gratitude for having access to such amazing public lands so close to home knowing the public land sales were defeated.

From Emily Forkey, Digital Coordinator

Living in Washington D.C., I sometimes need a little break from the city. Luckily, the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains and the National Forests that span across those ridges are a short distance away. Since moving to northern Virginia in 2021, the Appalachian Mountains have become really special to me.

When public land sales were removed from budget reconciliation, I was in the middle of enjoying these amazing public lands. My boyfriend and I did a little road trip to Natural Bridge State Park and drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway, stumbling upon Otter Lake Waterfall. We were able to disconnect in the mountains and ended the weekend at Sherando Lake in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, swimming and enjoying the beautiful scenery. There was no better way to celebrate this win than spending it in one of my favorite public land spaces.

From Kris Coston, Nevada Field Representative

Hot and dry. That’s the 4^th of July in northern Nevada.

From my days as a wildland firefighter, I still recall the safety protocols that every wildland firefighter lives and dies by: the LCES’s.

• Lookouts
• Communications
• Escape routes
• Safety zones

Now that my firefighting days and wilder years of my youth are behind me, LCES’s have taken on a new meaning.

• Locate
• Cooler and
• Establish
• Shade….

There is no better place to practice your LCES skills and situational awareness than the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, jeweled with countless cool blue lakes and icy streams, the crest is the juxtaposition of hot and dry.

I can load the family in the truck with rods and tackle, ice, water, beer, camping gear, and food and drive up and over the Carson Pass at 8,652 feet and feel the heat drop into the valley floor like a discarded coat. From here on out it’s wet lines and family time as we fish and camp our way from one lake or stream to another.

Celebrating the 4^th is something that I used to do on a mountain top blackened by fire. Now I celebrate from the shores of a clear cool lake or stream and reminisce happily about those old and wild times, thinking how lucky I am to live and raise a family in the greatest country on earth where public lands are in public hands.

To all those men and women who protect our public lands from wildfire, I salute you and thank you for your hard work and sacrifice. And thank you to all who spoke up on behalf of public lands so we can all celebrate in these special places.

From Marcel Gaztambide, Southwest Field Manager

For me and my wife, Bria, some of our most cherished memories with family and friends were made on public lands. Everything from following the careful steps of my grandfather while elk hunting in the Uinta Mountains, trout fishing at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, riding horseback in the Wyoming Range, racing dirt bikes and mountain bikes, wind surfing and paddleboarding, desert river trips, and late-night campfires with themed-dress-up silliness. All of this unstructured fun was easily constructed across 640 million acres of public land in the United States.

When we welcomed our son, Ander, into the world 8 months ago, my wife and I were most looking forward to adventuring with him outside. We were so excited to teach him how to bag the peaks, run the rivers, and track big game through the forests. How to set up his tent, build a fire, and hang a bear-bag. How to squeeze the most out of a life spent out-of-doors on public land.

After the beautiful defense of public spaces mounted by tens of thousands of hunters and anglers across our country, we spent our 4^th of July weekend camping out on the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado. This was Ander’s second time camping, and certainly not his last, and the trip was made sweeter knowing that people from all walks of life are working hard to protect his ability to carry on our traditions and to have his own adventures. Cheers to public lands, the people who enjoy them, and the people who help keep them in public hands!

From Rob Thornberry, Idaho Field Representative

For years, my son, Jake, and I rarely fished or hunted together. The monthly escapes that we enjoyed during his youth were lost to life. First to high school sports and then to his college years and later when he started a family and a career of his own, now a four-hour drive from my home.

Although we happily forged new bonds–his first daughter calls me Bee-pa and has me hopelessly wrapped around her pinkie–I’ve missed our spring excursions to catch trout on stoneflies and our fall adventures to hunt deer and elk.

That is why when the public land sales amendment was removed from the budget reconciliation package, I received another great joy of summer. Jake texted and asked for a fishing trip for his birthday. Me and him.

Fast forward a couple of weekends and we were tumbling down the ever-roaring South Fork of the Boise River casting huge flies to fat rainbows, him beaming like the boy I so fondly remembered.

As I write this, the Monday after a perfect weekend, I revel in the text just received: “That was a lot of fun. I’m excited for next year.”

It is a tradition built, and survives to this day, on public lands and waters.

From Michael O’Casey, Director of Public Lands

Growing up, our family vacations were centered around public lands. Always on a budget, our trips only required a tent, gravel roads, and the excitement of discovery and freedom found dispersed camping along mountain streams of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. These trips often culminated in a few days camping and exploring Yellowstone National Park. We’d make the trek from the Oregon coast, driving through high desert, pine forests, and wildflower-filled meadows as we neared the park boundary. Those long road trips and days outdoors formed some of my favorite childhood memories and sparked a passion that led me to work several seasons for the National Park Service and a career in public lands policy.

This summer, as a father of three (8,3,0), I had the chance to return to Yellowstone and share some of these favorite places with my own kids. Watching my oldest catch his first brown trout on a dry fly, listening to them whine as they covered their noses from the smell of rotten eggs at the geysers, and seeing the shock on their faces as Old Faithful erupted for the first time reminded me of the value of these timeless places.

After experiencing such an amazing win as keeping public lands in public hands, what struck me most was how little the experience has changed, and how important that is. In a world that feels increasingly fast and fragmented, these shared landscapes provide a place to slow down, create quality unbroken time together, and to remember what truly matters.

From Josh Metten, Wyoming Field Manager

My dog, Ollie, is a public land pup through and through. He’s a rescue mutt from Omaha, Nebraska, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a lover of all the outdoor activities public lands have to offer. In our time together in Wyoming, we’ve backpacked through the Absaroka Wilderness, backcountry skied the Tetons, hunted elk in the Wyoming Range, and chased chukar across rugged Bureau of Land Management lands. Most recently, we shared a float down Idaho’s Selway River, which might be my favorite experience with Ollie yet.

Like most Wyomingites, public land is central to my way of life, so I was thrilled that the amendment that would have mandated millions of acres of public land sales in budget reconciliation legislation was removed! Ollie and I celebrated by joining friends on a six-day float down Idaho’s Selway River. The river flows through the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, which was designated by the 1964 Wilderness Act, a bill sponsored by the late Idaho Senator Frank Church.

Americans love public lands because of their abundance and the freedom they provide. At 640 million acres, we have a massive expanse of diverse landscapes to experience. Floating the Selway was an opportunity to unplug from the rigors of daily life and be thankful that these amazing places have been stewarded for present and future generations to enjoy. I’m happy to share that Ollie loved the float and we can add multi-day river trips to our list of shared public land activities. It turns out that most activities on public lands are better with friends and dogs.

Read another public land reflection from the TRCP team HERE.

Photo credits: TRCP Staff

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