OH celebrates National Public Lands Day on Saturday

By Farah Siddiqi

Saturday is National Public Lands Day, meaning all national parks, forests, and other public lands in Ohio and across the country offer free admission. Public lands continue to face threats under the Trump Administration, including increased resource extraction, funding cuts, and workforce reductions.

Devin O’Dea, western policy and conservation manager with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, said celebrating victories is especially important. He pointed to last June, when a measure to sell off public lands was defeated in Congress.

"We were able to defend against the large-scale selloff of 2 to 3 million acres of public lands," he explained. "Public lands are our shared inheritance. They're something that everyone in America owns, and that everyone has a right to access."

According to the Bureau of Land Management, National Public Lands Day is the largest single-day volunteer event for public lands in the country. Ohioans can join events ranging from habitat restoration to trail cleanups all over the state.

O’Dea said public land sales were removed from the federal budget reconciliation process after hundreds of thousands of people contacted their representatives to voice their dissent, and added that people should care about public lands because once sold, they're gone forever, and they're not just important for the animals that call them home.

"Public lands are integral to not only our way of life as we like to recreate, but really also our economies, our clean water," he continued.

The Legacy Restoration Fund, which provides funding for maintenance for National Parks and other public lands, will expire at the end of the month without congressional intervention, O’Dea warned. He urged the public to stay engaged in the process.