Giving Back to the Wild

The Missouri River Wild (Montana)

As the assault continues, I am once again drawn to devote this month’s blog to public lands advocacy.

Ever since DOGE fired thousands of federal probationary employees without cause in February, I have lived in a state of dread. This was just the opening salvo of a multitude of actions taken in the name of reducing cost and improving government efficiency that have instead created an unprecedented level of chaos, inefficiency, and uncertainty.

The motivations of these actions are murky, but it doesn’t take a lot of critical thinking to determine that these moves are driven by an astounding lack of knowledge and expertise at the highest levels of government, political retribution, and potential for grifting by those currently in power. Transparency has been nonexistent, and the evidence is flimsy for how current efforts to reduce and reorganize our government institutions will lead to improved outcomes.   

Since this all began, I have closely followed the manifestation of this assault as it impacts public land management agencies. Because of my connections with former colleagues in the US Forest Service, I know these actions have been extremely damaging to hard-working and highly qualified individuals as well as the agency overall.

Because federal employees are prohibited from talking openly, there has been little visible evidence of the destruction that has occurred in our federal land management agencies. But it is there, and the cracks are turning into ravines.

Currently, the US Department of Agriculture (under Secretary Brooke Rollins) is taking public comments on a reorganization plan that proposes to drastically change the organizational structure of the US Forest Service.  Once again, there is not enough detail or transparency to understand how this proposal will improve efficiency or reduce costs. 

This administration is betting that most people buy into a general assumption that government agencies and employees are inefficient and wasteful. They also know that most of us have very little knowledge about how specific government agencies work. So, they are also betting they will receive minimal comment on the proposed reorganization.

But this administration is NOT taking meaningful steps to improve government efficiency; it wants to break it. And they need to know we are watching.

The threats to our public lands and the civil workforce entrusted with caring for them have affected me in a way that is more visceral than many other very relevant and urgent issues. For as long as I can remember, I have depended on Wild lands. Both as a child to survive the emotional impacts of extreme loss and financial insecurity, and as an adult in fostering lifelong connection, community, and purpose.

I considered myself a proactive environmentalist and scientist during my hydrology career. I carry a tremendous pride in the origin of my agency, beginning with our first leader, Gifford Pinchot, who coined the foundational principle of the US Forest Service in 1905, "to provide the greatest good for the greatest number". 

The Current River Wild (Missouri).

Managing public lands for multiple uses, including extractive resources and a diverse

array of recreational uses, has never been easy. But I spent my career learning how to use applied science to guide actions to provide for multiple uses of public lands while also maintaining sustainable and resilient ecosystems. 

When I speak about my life experience during author talks for my memoir RISK, I have met many others whose lives are also profoundly impacted by their connection to Wild lands. Lands that have provided the foundation for building personal resiliency, and strong family and community bonds and connections. 

But I am also aware that human society at large contains many who do not share those connections. Those whose lives are filled with interests, activities, and communities that involve very little connection to Wild places and have a dim understanding of the importance of public lands to provide sustainable ecosystems critical to maintain overall health and prosperity for all of humanity.

This is what terrifies me the most: the level of threat I perceive is just not real to so many. And because of that, not enough people will take action to stop the bleeding before significant harm occurs.

As I have embarked on my self-designed publicity campaign for my memoir, RISK, I pondered briefly whether also engaging in public land advocacy might impede those efforts.  It’s not fun, I don’t get many likes, and many (most?) of us are fighting burnout and overwhelm.

But I don’t really have a choice. Because I feel my life was saved through my connection to rivers and paddling culture within public lands, I must do my part.

The Tahoe Backcountry Wild (California)

So, I continue to wield my writing for good, to help provide insight and motivation for

why people should care enough to rise above the overwhelm and engage in the resistance, and how to do so in a manageable way. 

I am going to end this blog with the simplest and easiest way to give back to the Wild, which provides us with so much.

Join one (or two) advocacy groups that are working for public lands.  Sign up to give them a small automatic monthly donation and then take two minutes to sign their form letters when they appear in email messages or social media posts. It literally takes two minutes.

The following two links are the two organizations I have chosen to support based on my research on their organizational effectiveness, understanding of the issues, and ability to craft timely and on-point messaging.

https://www.outdooralliance.org/

https://www.nrdc.org/about

There are many other worthy organizations to choose from, so please do follow the advice of friends you trust, or conduct your own research, maybe picking a group(s) that reflects your connection to Wild lands (as a skier, mountain biker, paddler, bird watcher, etc).

If you have taken the time to read this blog, I assume you are joining me in defending the Wild.  Welcome, and I hope to see you out there, continuing to build our resilience to maintain our resistance.

August 29th Addendum!: Now you have the opportunity to spend 3 minutes and send two messages through the Outdoor Alliance! The first on US Forest Service Reorganization (until August 31) and the second on the proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule (by September 19th). This is yet another bone-headed proposal that the current Trump administration appointed Chief of the US Forest Service vocally supports, and it is simply WRONG!.

As a hydrologist with the US Forest Service for almost three decades, I consider myself an expert on this issue. Here is a bullet list of facts to personalize and add to the Outdoor Alliance message.

1) Permanent US Forest Service roads require constant maintenance, and if maintenance funding is insufficient (as currently proposed), they invariably result in excessive damage to stream channels and water quality.

2) The Roadless rule currently allows for the construction of temporary roads to implement Forest Health, Wildfire Mitigation, and Watershed Restoration Projects. We did this all the time in the Tahoe Basin, including decommissioning of temporary roads at the end of the project. Decommissioning a temporary road is much less expensive than maintaining a permanent road.

3) More permanent US Forest Service roads will not result in fewer fires. Human-caused ignitions account for over 80% of all wildfires in the U.S. and often occur near roads from sources like vehicles and discarded cigarettes. 

So there you have it, Flood the Zone!

The Salmon River Wild, Idaho