“We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.” — Theodore Roosevelt
Well, I did it again. Your humble outdoors scribe is not exactly the best when it comes to time management.
I write this to you on the morning of July 4, Independence Day for the United States of America. Some of you will not see this till after the Fourth, of course, but that is OK — the things here I will talk to you about should have meaning all year long.
Now, you may be reading this over that second cup of Joe and thinking: “What is wrong with this guy? He should have had this done earlier in the week.” Guilty as charged. I have no excuses. As an old law enforcement partner and friend of mine used to say: “What happened? Did you get overwhelmed by circumstances?”
Well, yes.
The Fourth of July is the day we get all fired up and overindulge in hot dogs, fireworks, small-town parades, cute kids eating funnel cakes, and oh yes, more hot dogs. Got to have the hot dogs, my brothers and sisters in camo, you just have to. Now how you prepare those hot dogs and how you “fix” and eat them is a long story for another time and can be divisive.
In honor of Independence Day for the greatest country in the history of the world (there, I said it), I want to talk to you for a minute about what we all have to be thankful for and what we should be celebrating.
(READ MORE: Jar flies, new guns, public land and Independence Day)
In 1901, we had a guy become the 26th president of the United States who was a little portly in build, very nearsighted, and was a hunter, sportsman and conservationist his entire life. Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt had the heart of a lion, and he changed the landscape of this country forever.
During his two-term presidency, Roosevelt took it upon himself to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service, signing the Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities, and establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 18 national monuments, five national parks and four national game preserves. Roosevelt protected approximately 230 million acres of public land during his time in the White House. This, of course, led to much more public land becoming available to hunters, fishermen, hikers, birdwatchers and all of us in America who tramp the trackless wastes.
(READ MORE: Old principles of conservation in a brave new world)
Almost anywhere you go today in the U.S., you can’t hardly swing a dead cat without hitting some form of public land where you can hunt, fish, spy on little birdies or, if you want, just walk in to sit on a stump and think about life.
This land is public. If you are a citizen of the United States, it is yours. No asking permission, no worrying about whose fence you may be crossing, just go.
For the past several months, you have heard much cussing and discussing about the package of tax breaks and spending cuts referred to as “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Going into the merits of this legislation — signed into law by President Donald Trump on Independence Day — would take us into discussions that would last until all the cows (and horses) came home. What I am here to note is that somehow provisions were attached to this bill that figured greatly into the status of public land.
Sen. Mike Lee from Utah has long been an advocate of selling off some of our public land to private concerns. His provisions in this bill would have put more than 200 million acres in 11 Western states on the auction block. (Teddy had to be rolling in his grave.)
For months, every hunting, fishing and public land advocate in the country joined together and protested this affront to one of our basic freedoms and heritages: the protection, continuation and enjoyment of our public lands.
Most of the ruckus that was raised was out West, and it is said that a wonderful thing happened as a result of these protests. In many small towns, people stood side by side to protest these public land concerns. A rancher in pressed blue jeans and hand-stitched boots could be seen alongside a nose-pierced millennial in a tie-dyed T-shirt and sandals. A fly fisherman in an Orvis hat might be chatting with a grandmother with a “Not one acre” sign she made from a pizza box. Teachers, cops, natural resource agency employees, and corporate executives stood together to say the same thing: It’s our land; hands off.
These folks weren’t protesting the Big Beautiful Bill itself, just the provisions that would take public land. After much wrangling and legislative gymnastics, Sen. Lee pulled the land-grabbing text from the bill. Those who protested are celebrating now but know that they have to remain vigilant.
So in a time when we seem to be so polarized and divided, this is something to celebrate and be thankful for! Hunters, fishermen, hikers and all advocates for public land found something to unite us, and we can rejoice together. I am sure Teddy is squinting down on us with big grin.
I hope you had a wonderful Independence Day and enjoyed those hot dogs. I know I did.
“Guns & Cornbread” is written by Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va. You can write to him at larryocase3@gmail.com.