We live in crazy times.
I come to look at the natural world through the lens of a conservation oriented environmentalist. Long title, but it speaks to the thought given to what's going on around us.
Growing up the "enviro" label had such a negative word associations that I recoiled from it.
That wasn't me. That wasn't what I was about.
That word and label gave me the feeling of people chained to trees, endlessly in lawsuits and doing frivolous things about places and species that I knew nothing about and or thought to care about. Climate change...pfff, climate change isnt real
But then...it changed.
Through the lens of a hunter, fisherman and outdoor recreator, I began to see the onslaught our world is under. The more I looked I began to see the ecological web that was being tossed aside for short term gains that in less than a generation would be flipped to become disasters that responsible parties would be held unaccountable
Remember this...Mt Polly Mine, Canada 2014.
Guess what the company responsible for this paid in damages? Nothing.
Guess who's on the hook for the cleanup and recovery?
The thing that I hold most dear is the want to give my boys an opportunity to know the joy of what the outdoor world can bring them. To know that there are places where we have chosen to let mother nature operate as it was intended. To know the engine of good operates in perpetuity and if they choose to do so, go to places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bristol Bay, The Boundary Waters, Smith River, and enjoy the millions of acres of public land that is their birth rite without seeing a screwed up version of what was
I've marveled at stories of yesteryear in both fish and game terms. Upwards of 32 million salmonids returning on the Columbia River system and we're never getting that back. Examples of examples where we've chosen non-renewability over the long term.
Look at what's happening on the Oregon Coast with antiquated logging practices stripping the hillsides of all the trees, spraying pesticides directly into community water supplies....and drastically crushing the ability streams to bear salmon and steelhead.
Look at the increases on oil and gas leases on public land. Up 86% since 2016... and fracturing connectivity and big game migration routes
There's hundreds of examples to choose from. On the other hand we absolutely need extraction. I drive a big truck for gosh sakes. I consume just like the rest of the world. We need raw materials like wood, gas, oil and the like but I am coming more and more to this conclusion
Maybe there's some places that should be off limits.
The Pebble Mine in Alaska, like the worlds biggest zombie has raised from the dead.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is under consideration for drilling
The Boundary Waters Wilderness area is under threat from a sulfide ore copper mine
The Smith River in Montana is in jeopardy
Public lands are in peril across the country.
The list is long, ongoing and growing.
This should never be a question of economics over the land. Recent reports are showing the might of the outdoor and recreation industries that are coming close if not eclipsing the totals of extractive industries.
So to my call to action...
It's time to hold the line.
If you're not involved in keeping places like this wild and untouched, it's time to join the fight.
If you don't have money, volunteer.
If you have money, give it.
If you have skills that can aide in the cause, throw down.
My lines have been drawn. I hope you can see to draw yours too.
