The article reflects on the author’s childhood memories of visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, emphasizing the emotional and personal significance of such experiences in nature. It further discusses the current status of federal lands in the United States, highlighting that despite growing privatization, a substantial amount of land remains under federal administration, primarily in the West. This land, though underutilized, serves fundamental purposes by offering recreational opportunities and fostering a sense of connection with the natural environment for everyone.
Eight decades into the gradual privatization of once-public postwar spoils, and despite climate change frenzying the competition for land, more than a third of the land in the United States is administered by federal agencies, mostly the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.
These lands are the only parts of the country that both are for everyone and whose chief utility is, well, nothing.
It is important to feel small, overjoyed, or fascinated by the outdoors, and to learn about the world and one's place in it through those feelings.
You can camp for 14 nights without a permit on most BLM land.
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