Photo Credit: WildEarth Guardians

Public lands in public hands – exposing greedy land-grabbers and fighting privatization

Public Lands in Public Hands

Public lands provide limitless opportunities to experience everything from majestic red rock canyons to ancient sequoia groves, vast mountain wildernesses, and the stunning Sagebrush Sea. Many of these areas are protected from development as National Parks, Monuments, Forests and Wilderness Areas, providing the last remaining places for clean water and air, and homes to a remarkable diversity of wildlife, birds, and fish.

Unfortunately, exploitation and privatization of the commons is as old as the West, and protection of, and public access to, these lands is not assured. Wealthy, entrenched interests are lobbying their friends in Congress, pressuring federal agencies, and supporting the message of radicals like the Bundy family that they are the rightful owners of public lands and can do with them as they see fit.

We can’t stand by and let this happen. Guardians works to expose the efforts of greedy land-grabbers to keep public lands where they belong: in public hands.

Stop Senator Mike Lee's Public Lands Giveaway!

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has announced he will introduce legislation that will hand over millions of acres of federal public lands to the states for resource exploitation. Tell your senators to oppose this legislation!

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Public Lands in Public Hands Key Strategies

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are required by law to serve the public, rather than private proponents, when trading or selling public lands. Still, too often agency proposals reward privatizers with valuable land or access to minerals and offer little value in return for the rest of us. Guardians monitors agency land trades and sales from initial proposal to final decision to make sure the public interest is upheld. When it’s not, we challenge the actions in court.

Several Western states—led by Utah—have demanded that all public lands inside their borders be handed over to them, claiming it’s required by the Constitution. This discredited theory is promoted by far-right groups whose corporate funders stand to profit from state ownership. Meanwhile, the impacts would be enormous: more clearcutting and mining, less environmental oversight and public access. Guardians organizes opposition to state efforts to steal public lands and works to expose the big-money interests behind the movement.

Too many members of Congress treat their districts’ public lands as personal fiefdoms. They sponsor legislation for land deals exempted from fundamental laws such as the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act in order to conceal that they serve the needs of the rich and well-connected rather than the public. Guardians exposes the politicians’ shady bills and organizes opposition to fight for the public’s interest.

National monuments protect priceless cultural and geologic treasures; for instance, Bandelier National Monument in Arizona preserves Ancestral Puebloan culture, including homes, kivas, and rock paintings, and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in California and Oregon protects the biodiversity of a unique ecosystem at the junction of two mountain ranges. Unfortunately, national monuments are also a beachhead in current attacks on public lands: President Trump claimed to be restoring the rights of Utahns when he issued orders drastically shrinking Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.

Guardians defends the rights of all Americans to preserve national monuments for future generations. We are committed to fighting monument reductions from the president and Congress.

A Newfound Appreciation for Public Lands

Public lands are a lesson for the next generation—proof that everyone in this country should be given equal opportunity to experience forests, rivers, and mountains.

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Photo Credit: WildEarth Guardians

How You Can Help

Help protect the magnificent wild places of the West! Be a guardian for public lands by joining the conversation, learning about current issues, and making your voice heard. Together, we're a powerful force for nature.

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Public Lands Press

Win for Wildlife and Quiet Use on Bitterroot National Forest

Aug 15, 2018

Hamilton, MT—Last week, Federal District Court Judge Dana Christensen issued an order clarifying that his previous June 29, 2018 order does not lift restrictions on mountain bike use in the Bitterroot National Forest’s Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Ju

Chaco needs congressional leadership

The Santa Fe New Mexican | Mar 24, 2018

For centuries, Chaco Canyon was a gathering place where ancestral Puebloan peoples came together to make their world a better place. At the heart of the ancient civilization’s genius are the complex and intricate relationships between its grand architecture, global commerce, ceremonies and their link to solar and lunar cycles.

Forest Service Agrees To Stop Sheep Grazing Near Bighorns In Eastern Idaho

Boise State Public Radio | Jul 3, 2018

Forest Service has settled a lawsuit from environmental groups to prevent domestic sheep from grazing in areas inhabited by native Bighorns.

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[email protected]
406-209-9545

Kelly Nokes, J.D.

Transparency Staff Attorney

Kelly Nokes joined WildEarth Guardians as Carnivore Advocate in June 2015 and became Guardians' Transparency Staff Attorney in September 2017. She holds a J.D. and Masters of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a B.S. in Environmental Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Leadership & Management from Northern Michigan University. She is a barred attorney in the State of Montana. Kelly has been an active advocate for wild creatures and wild places throughout her career. She previously served as a legal intern with Western Environmental Law Center and Trustees for Alaska and came to the Guardians with a strong background in environmental education and program administration from her prior work with Columbia Riverkeeper and the Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute. An avid mountain biker and trail runner, Kelly can often be found on the trails exploring Montana's beautiful mountain landscape when not in the office.

Bill Syme

Member, Board of Directors

Bill joined the board in 2009. He is the only board member who is a native New Mexican and brings this unique perspective to the deliberations of the board. His love of nature began early in his life with frequent trips to New Mexico and southern Colorado forests and streams, backpacking and fly-fishing with his family. Voyages to the Gila and Pecos made a lasting impression on young Bill leading to the desire to preserve wilderness areas in as pristine a state as possible. He went to college at Stanford university, majoring in biology and chemistry. While there he became involved in outdoor biological research. One summer was spent just outside Yosemite studying chipmunks. The next year he was involved in the student lead Mono Lake study evaluating the effects of water diversions by Los Angeles on the ecology of the lake. The results of this study are still in evidence today with the maintenance of water levels in the lake high enough to preserve the breeding islands of gulls. Currently he works as a general surgeon in Albuquerque, in private practice since 1990 but also involved in teaching residents and medical students from UNM. He continues to have a love for the outdoors and spends time outside hiking, cycling, backpacking, bird watching,skiing,gardening and fly-fishing.

Peter Schoenburg

Member, Board of Directors

Peter is a partner in the Albuquerque law offices of Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Schoenburg & Bienvenu, LLP. He has practiced criminal defense law in New Mexico since 1978. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale College and his law degree at Rutgers School of Law. A former Federal and State Public Defender, as well as an Assistant Attorney General, since 1993 Peter has worked in private practice defending complex criminal cases in both Federal and State courts. He also regularly represents Native Americans charged with illegal possession of feathers in connection with their religious practices. He has been continuously listed in The Best Lawyers in America - Criminal Defense since 1994. Peter’s love of the wilderness and commitment to its preservation began in his child-hood years in upstate New York. Beginning in law school he worked as an instructor at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine and the, now defunct, Southwest Outward Bound School based in Santa Fe. He is an avid rafter, hiker, skier and cyclist.

Kristina Martinez

Member, Board of Directors

Kristina Martinez was born and raised in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico. Ms. Martinez has practiced law in Santa Fe since 2006. She focuses her practice in the areas of civil rights, general civil litigation, and family law. Kristina serves on the Ethics & Campaign Review Board for the City of Santa Fe as well as the boards of the St. Michael’s High School Foundation and Cooking with Kids. She loves the Santa Fe community and the American Southwest and strives to help preserve and enrich both by serving on the WildEarth Guardians’ board, which she joined in 2015.

Nat Cobb

Member, Board of Directors

Nat Cobb joined the Guardians Board in 2010. He grew exploring the outdoor environments in New Mexico, Colorado, and Pakistan. In the 1970’s he worked for five different Outward Bound schools in diverse environments, including three years directing programs in the Gila Wilderness. He also worked as a river guide on the Grand Canyon and in Dinosaur National Monument. A graduate of Fort Lewis College and Harvard Medical School, he recently retired from the Indian Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control, where his work included Family Practice, Emergency Medicine, Research and Epidemiology. He still loves to explore mountains, rivers and deserts by boat, ski, foot, and bicycle. He and his wife actively support and partner with several local farmers in farm-to-table, farm-to-beer mug, and farm-to-wineglass projects. At home on the bank of the Rio Grande in Los Ranchos, NM, he dabbles in native plant landscaping and tries to co-exist with the coyote, geese, beaver, and sandhill cranes who live in his back yard.

Anne Butterfield

Member, Board of Directors

Anne Butterfield, of Boulder CO. After early years spent in a range of of outdoor environments in the east and west, Anne developed a passion for high altitude. Soon after graduating from Occidental College, she grew through expert skiing, Colorado Outward Bound School, search and rescue work, and serving an archeological surveyor for the US Forest Service in New Mexico. Anne then co-managed Adventure 16 in West LA, a 10,000 square-foot outdoor retail store. Returning to Colorado, she completed a Masters in Creative Writing at CU Boulder and served with Colorado’s 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office as a victim advocate. Then, for seven years she served as an editorial adviser and opinion columnist at the Boulder Daily Camera, where her writing explored Colorado energy policy and informed Boulder voters through three elections leading to the city's decision to separate legally from Xcel Energy. She comes to Guardians also having served on the board of Clean Energy Action, a non-profit dedicated to educating elected officials, regulators, and the public on the risks of our nation relying so heavily on the faltering coal industry. She is an avid pet & wildlife lover and a big fan of renewable energy having learned so much from her husband Sandy who spent his career in wind energy particularly at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories.

Glen Colton

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Glen and his wife have lived in Fort Collins, Colorado since 1979. They have one daughter. Glen has been active in the community for many years, serving on numerous boards and commissions involved with community planning, the environment, open spaces, natural resources, sustainability, and economic health. He has been especially active in population and growth issues at the local, state, and national level. For many years, he wrote a bi-monthly business column for the Fort Collins Coloradoan, focusing on providing an alternative view to the pro-growth bias dominant in the media. Glen worked at Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies in Finance and retired in 2001. He graduated from Wartburg College in Iowa in 1978 with a degree in Accounting and Economics. While growing up in Iowa he developed a passion for the outdoors hiking, fishing, camping, canoeing, and hunting. He also was a three-sport athlete in high school and college, playing football, wrestling, and track. While Glen believes in taking individual action to help achieve sustainability, and protect the environment and wildlife, he believes it is equally important to stabilize population and move our economy to a “steady state” economy not dependent on economic and population growth. When he’s not working on sustainability issues, Glen enjoys fly fishing, biking, hiking, downhill and cross country skiing, gardening, and just being in the outdoors.

Cathy Bailey

Secretary, Board of Directors

Cathy works with young people to connect them with wild places. She is an outdoor and environmental educator of distinction. Cathy has her BA from the University of Texas at Austin, her MA from the University of Texas El Paso, and environmental educator training from the National Outdoor Leadership School. For over 25 years she has been a classroom teacher. Presently, as a science teacher at Albuquerque’s Bosque School, she has built and implemented curriculum based on the landscape at hand. Her students participate in citizen science programs where their research informs habitat management. Each year she spends weeks leading students into wilderness. Cathy has also worked extensively as a lay leader within the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande with youth programs, capital fundraising, and social justice and inclusivity issues. For Cathy, the inseparable goals of a healthy environment and healthy human community are central to her life’s calling. At home in Albuquerque, Cathy’s family, her pair of running dogs, a flock of chickens, a much loved garden, the Sandia Wilderness and the Rio Grande keep her connected to that which matters.

David Will

Vice President, Board of Directors

David was born and raised in the rural Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. Prior to attending college, David spent summers traveling the United States to study the geology of National Parks during summer field study trips led by his father, an adjunct professor of geology for a local college. His passion for protected spaces and wilderness led him to earn a B.S. in Natural Resources and a M.P.A with an emphasis in public lands protection from Cornell University. During summers between college semesters, David worked as a Park Ranger Naturalist at Rocky Mountain and Grand Teton National Parks, where he shared his passion for natural history with countless visitors exploring Rocky Mountain landscapes. After completing graduate school, David worked for the National Parks Conservation Association and The Wilderness Society before becoming a partner in an education consulting firm. David lives in Durango, Colorado where he finds peace in the mountains and forests of the San Juan Mountains.

Mimsi Milton

President, Board of Directors

Mimsi spent three glorious summers as a teenager at a camp in Estes Park and became hooked on the West. Years later, after many western vacations, she and her husband moved their family to Denver, where they didn't know a soul, and were “home” from day one. Mimsi has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin. As a journalist, she worked with Wolf Blitzer on a national, Middle East newsletter and with Martin Agronsky on his nightly, live PBS show. She was a staff writer for Parent and Child Magazine and The Baltimore Jewish Times and a freelancer for The Washington Post and other publications. Mimsi was Associate Director of Development for the D.C. Sidwell Friends School and Associate Director of Development and Alumni Affairs for the Kent Denver School in Englewood, Colorado. Following that she owned and operated a gallery of international crafts. Mimsi spends summers in Frisco hiking, biking, gardening, painting and expanding her repertoire of vegan recipes. She serves on the board of CO-Force (Coloradans for Fair Rates and Clean Energy), a non-profit that promotes renewable energy and works to end the use of fossil fuels.

Public lands in public hands – exposing greedy land-grabbers and fighting privatization

Public Lands in Public Hands

Stop Senator Mike Lee's Public Lands Giveaway!

Public Lands in Public Hands Key Strategies

How You Can Help

Recent Stories From Public Lands

Public Lands Press

WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.

Contact

Kelly Nokes, J.D.

Transparency Staff Attorney

Bill Syme

Member, Board of Directors

Peter Schoenburg

Member, Board of Directors

Kristina Martinez

Member, Board of Directors

Nat Cobb

Member, Board of Directors

Anne Butterfield

Member, Board of Directors

Glen Colton

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Cathy Bailey

Secretary, Board of Directors

David Will

Vice President, Board of Directors

Mimsi Milton

President, Board of Directors