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What are Public Lands? Short Answer |
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Public land is all the land in the public domain, under county, state, or federal management. This term applies most commonly to lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. For the long answer, go to the Public Lands Visitor Center (produced by Queenellen).
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Who is the Queen of the Public Lands?
Ellen is the Queen of Public Lands because she thought of it first, and also because the job of Chief Inspector of Public Lands was already taken.
Ellen is Queen of Public Lands because public lands make America great, and she loves America. Because being an co-owner of one third of the county is a great civic responsibility and provides a constant opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
Ellen is Queen of Public Lands because she finds no higher calling than to spend a lifetime promoting awareness of our public lands and all that it implies: stewardship, sustainable use, participation in the management process, enjoyment of the lands, and appreciation for their historical and natural significance.
Ellen is Queen of Public Lands because she assembles teams of willing workers to create multimedia interpretive projects, which bring the message of the value of public lands to people all over the world.
Ellen is Queen of Public Lands because she always finds the cool campsites.
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Why are Public Lands Important?
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the natural resources of the public domain seemed endless. Herds of bison blackened the plains, game birds obscured the sun as they flew past, and the forest primeval grew from sea to shining sea. A man could scratch the ground to find gold, or plow the grassy plains to bring on the rains. Land was cheap or even free, and thousands of pioneers from all over the globe streamed into the west.
Then people started noticing that these resources were either vanishing (like the bison), not equally shared (like the water), or being gobbled up by big businesses (like the timber and the minerals). Gradually, the pressure built up on the government to preserve these resources. A parallel, but smaller movement grew up to preserve particularly scenic areas, like Yellowstone and Yosemite. This was not very popular at first, and in the early 1900s, one senator successfully campaigned with the slogan, "Not one penny for scenery!"
Today, scenery ranks with resources for importance in the hearts of the American people. We turn to public lands when we want some time off from the things of man, when we want some fresh air, some space to roam, to reconnect with the universe.
We learn from public lands about the interconnectedness of life and our own cultural history. Public lands help keep our air and water clean. Public lands harbor vanishing species, relics of our past, and vistas so grand that we remember how small humans are. And public lands still provide us with the minerals, timber, water, electricity, oil, gas, and other materials we need to live our lives.
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I Work in Lands Song
No one talks to me at parties because I work in lands,
making maps for tourists...
Thanks so much to Terese Taylor and the Clothes We Wore Before We Were Married
also to Quither McNarl of the Coffee Express for this beautiful improv tribute.
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Queen's Public Lands Song
The BLM, the BLM
They make my favorite kind of land.
The sunny skies above are blue,
There are no trees to block the view.
There're cows, and miners, and lots of rocks,
It's indicated by yellow blocks.
---written one lovely fall morning in the San Rafael Swell, UT.
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Bookmarks
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