|
The Keep Parks Public tour highlighted ongoing threats to Western Colorado’s public lands at a live taping of The Landscape podcast on Friday evening at Gemini Beer Company in Grand Junction.
In Colorado, staffing and funding cuts by the Trump administration threaten the health and accessibility of national public lands, as well as Grand Junction’s economy, which is driven by outdoor recreation. Congressional proposals to sell off public lands earlier this summer threatened the very existence of national public land, including popular mountain biking trails like the Lunch Loops.
“The public lands in Grand Valley are what make this a great place to live. Attempts to sell off our public lands and to weaken the agencies that manage them threaten the biking and hiking trails our community—and my business—depends on,” said Cole Hanson, co-owner of Gear Junction and vice chair of the Grand Valley Outdoor Recreation Coalition. “As an outdoor gear business owner, my livelihood relies on the existence of accessible and well-managed public lands.”
Around 140 people attended the event, which was cosponsored by the National Parks Conservation Association and the Grand Valley Outdoor Recreation Coalition. The live podcast episode will be published later this week.
Keep Parks Public Salt Lake City podcast episode up now!
Erika Pollard with the National Parks Conservation Association, Davina Smith with the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Scott Braden with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and Doug Tolman with Save Our Canyons discuss threats to Utah's public lands posed by the Trump administration and Congress. Listen to the live episode now!
|
The Trump administration’s attacks on the National Park Service and other land management agencies are stretching staff thin and putting natural and cultural resources in danger... Even if we turn around the treatment of civil service employees today, it will take years to restore the trust in these career paths enough to attract high performers back into public service.”
