Opinion: Public lands need to be restored
The coronavirus pandemic showed people, especially Utahns, love their public lands.
It is vital that we all work together to not only protect these lands but to restore them in order to preserve their beauty for future generations.
These are nationally protected lands that include national parks, forests, conservation areas, wildlife refuges, trails, scenic rivers, historic sites and monuments.
“We all have a responsibility to help the land — Mother Earth — and I hope we just all feel a stewardship to the land,” said Darren Parry, the former chairman of the Northeastern band of the Shoshone nation. “I just hope we get back to making responsible decisions that take into account the land and the land’s right to exist.”
In 2018, Parry helped to purchase the site of the Bear River Massacre in Idaho.
He partnered with the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University to get rid of plants that shouldn’t be there and return plants that should be there in order to return the site to its natural state before Westernized culture intervened to create the modern landscape.
“I want the students to be aware that for thousands of years the land the Native Americans had was taken care of and not exploited at all. In the past 200 years, colonialism, extraction and depletion — values of the Western culture — have hurt the land,” Parry said. “Natives never felt this way. They had stewardship over the land and took care of it.”
Also working with USU is Mark Brunson, a professor in the Department of Environment and Society. As a researcher, Brunson studies the restoration of public lands, focusing on wildfires and how to recover from them.
“One possibility is to learn about the issues,” Brunson said about how students can help with restoration. “Federal law requires that the public has a chance to make comments and that’s an important opportunity that people can take advantage of.”
Parry said there are always opportunities for students to help including looking for organizations on campus, like the Department of Natural Resources, where you can volunteer or even get a degree in climate adaptation.
Public lands make up nearly two-thirds of the state and they’re more endangered than ever. In recent years, landmarks have been in danger with the government trying to obtain more usable land.
In an interview with Sean Damitz, the director for the USU Center for Community Engagement, he talked about his involvement in the Utah Conservation Corp since they began 21 years ago. There they try to restore and conserve habitats similar to the work done by Darren Parry.
Damitz suggested a mutually beneficial opportunity to students who can earn money and give back to the environment at the same time.
Hundreds of USU students have worked with Americorp to provide a term of service, going out do work on sustainability and food recovery. After 450 hours, the student is given a financial education reward which they can use to help pay back student loans. It’s practically a summer job with a provided living allowance.
Students can also contact the Student Sustainability Corps who work to make Utah State a more sustainable place, working with multiple organizations on the side including the Americorps.
It is our duty as students and as human beings to help restore our environment to its natural glory, and if we can’t do that, we can at least preserve what we have left. We have to think about the future and take into account the history that has led us to this point. We have to do better.
“We’re not supposed to extract the land or abuse it for future generations,” Parry said. “At the current rates, our grandchildren won’t have much to see.”
—
Megan Cowdell is a second-year communications student. She loves going on bike rides, reading mystery novels and watching cheesy movies.
— A02334008@usu.edu