A way forward toward preservation and keeping public lands in public hands

Commentary by Dan Denning

“Most Americans would agree that spending money and preserving our Parks is something the government should spend money on. But not indiscriminately, and not without more supervision and accountability.”

Here’s a thought that is both obvious and controversial: A good deal of the public reaction to the staffing changes in our National Park System is really political anger at Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Supporting federal workers has become a popular way to object to the direction the new administration has taken.

It has less to do with the effect of the actual changes to the operation of our National Parks, which aren’t clear yet, and more with giving voice to your opposition to Trump and Musk, and being seen doing it. In other words, it’s political, not practical, or even reasonable.

In the spirit of beinghttps://estesvalleyvoice.com/2025/03/12/a-way-forward-toward-preservation-and-keeping-public-lands-in-public-hands/ reasonable and using the current focus on the management and staffing of our Parks to ends we all can agree on — preservation of natural resources and fair public access — let me try to set out a few broad points and then some specific operational issues to focus on.

First, we all love Rocky Mountain National Park. Suggestions that people want to see it overrun and destroyed are hysterical and should be treated with disdain. It’s an emotional outburst disguised as a silly argument. The National Park Service is consistently one of the most liked and trusted government agencies. Our parks and forests and all public lands are national treasures we all want to preserve as well as enjoy, without reservation.

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