Public Lands Are Vital for Wildlife and Our Future
Jun 19th 2025
Re-Affirm Your Conviction That Public Lands Should Remain in Public Hands
The Time to Let Your Senators Know is Now
Summer marks a time of acceleration in nature when the earliest days of the season are longest and the sunshine leaves us all invigorated. It is vacation time for humans, but not for wildlife, who are never on vacation, except perhaps for the little ones born this year and who enjoy the abbreviated equivalent of childhoods, playing and learning from their attentive mothers.
It is our human nature to ogle and awe at babies who are so cute, like the puppies and kittens we bring home to be our companions. But in order for wild creatures to persist, we need to give them space. As wildlife photographers, whether this is our career or we’re taking pictures with cell phones, we must be responsible observers.
Sanctuary at Signal Mountain - Shira’s Moose | Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Three consequential phenomena are now converging along the roadsides of Greater Yellowstone—human kids, accompanied by their parents and grandparents, being exposed for the first time to truly wild creatures. The young animals move freely through their homelands, unlike others we humans may have encountered at zoos. This is a teaching moment to remind next generations just how important a secure habitat is for wildlife. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to tell them these public lands belong to them and it is our duty to protect the homes of animals that often have nowhere else to go.
Among the sights (and sounds!) of summer, here are a few of my favorites: the arrival of bison, elk, and moose calves being guided by their protective mothers who know there are many possible perils facing their family members. Ungulates are social animals and in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, it’s common to see groups of bison and elk, gathered in their own respective bands, with mothers and their daughters born in recent years, looking after the youngsters as if at a nursery school.
Bull bison and elk bring their own spectacles. While it’s not uncommon for groups of bison and wapiti bachelors to hang out together, they are largely solitary, especially bison. As summer deepens, bulls enter the rut and engage in expressions of dominant behavior, either through wallowing or jousting with rivals vying to breed with females. In late August, the rut begins with elk. It is quite something to hear bison “roar” during the rut, and just as dramatic is listening to the bugling of bull elk.
Nursery in the Meadow | Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Of course, nothing compares to the sight of bear cubs, cougar kittens and wolf, coyote and fox pups accompanying their mothers and engaged in rambunctious playtime. With every step taken away from their dens, they are learning the ways of survival and navigating perilous landscapes of not only wild predators and obstacles such as rushing streams, but also a gauntlet of human-related dangers.
Protected public lands give wildlife added safety. Our visits to national parks, forests and other public lands should be cherished and our defense of keeping public lands in public hands is a cause all citizens should embrace. While our explorations are momentary and remembered for a lifetime, our constant collective impacts can have permanent impacts on wildlife. Let us use photography to be a voice for wildlife that they don’t have.
This is your time to make it happen. In fact, it’s now or possibly, never.
At this moment, the US Senate is considering passing a bill—dubiously called “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that would allow millions of acres of public lands to be sold. US Sen. Mike Lee of Utah inserted the language, using the claim that selling off public lands will address the affordable housing crisis. It will not. Lee’s language is radical and it needs to be removed from the legislation.
SO, WHAT’S ONE SIMPLE THING YOU CAN DO?
As an advocate for nature, go through your photo archives and then share an image on the Facebook and Instagram pages of your U.S. Senators, members of Congress and include this message:
“I am an American who believes that public lands are my sacred birthright that should not be violated by selling them off. They are essential habitat for lots of wildlife species which are important to me, to clean water and our shared heritage as citizens. They are important to this and future generations. If you vote to sell off America’s public lands, I will remember it when you come up for re-election.”
Also, send a JPG of your photo to your elected officials at their email address along with the message above, asking politely that they respond.
Public lands belong to all of us. Be respectful but firm in your choice of words.
Do this and our wildlife will be thankful because what you did for them matters.
Evening at Willow Flats | Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming