When the five tribes’ signs came down last month from Bears Ears National Monument, my heart sank. It symbolized a profound loss—erasure of public lands, abandonment of the innovative and effective partnership which maintained them, and, significantly, erosion of trust between people and their government.

From an academic standpoint, I knew that a move away from cooperative agreements, local expertise, and community support was foolish. One of the first lessons you learn in community leadership is that no one person has the wisdom required to make all decisions on their own. All sorts of studies document the myriad of harm done by outside “experts” claiming to know what is best for diverse places and people.

Likewise, decades of research has shown that successful land management is best achieved by incorporating knowledge from multiple perspectives, especially including that of indigenous communities. Meaningfully involving people in the oversight of their lands and livelihoods is a well-accepted (but rarely actualized) standard of practice.

These truths are well-accepted in modern land management, but this administration is too old-school to recognize it. It is blind to the damage it is doing by denying them.

Beyond academic conversation, the value of the Bears Ears Commission is immeasurable.

Its history is full of activism, citizenship, community, and care for the living world, and it’s all mixed together in one of those rare, uplifting American underdog stories that fuel your soul with hope. Throughout the course of its existence, it has showcased the wonder of collectively imagining the world a different way and the possibility of achieving a transformation.

The Bears Ears Commission was formed over a decade ago when five tribes in Utah were boxed out of state-wide conversations regarding the management and development of their ancestral lands. With the threat of losing precious natural resources close at hand—not to mention an abundant amount of disrespect from elected leaders—the tribes formed a coalition and worked to achieve lasting protections at a national level.

For years, they documented their histories, ties to the land, and importance of its preservation. In 2015, they petitioned President Obama to designate Bears Ears as a new kind of national monument, one that would center on the tribes’ connection to the land. In 2016, he made history by using the Antiquities Act to do just that, making Bears Ears “the first Native national monument”.

Over the years, the Coalition achieved historic land protections, co-wrote formal land management plans with the Bureau of Land Management, and ingrained innovative partnerships aimed at bringing people closer to the land. Their approach centers on teaching stewardship and honoring the sanctity of heritage sites. In this, interaction with the land is a way of living in the present, rather than of viewing the past as a museum-worthy relic.

What they have achieved is stunning.

The Bears Ears National Monument is full of people who dedicated huge parts of themselves to the idea that they could be a part of making their world better. No doubt its history is filled with communities and individuals who gambled their time, reputation, and energy on a crazy new idea. As it succeeded, their belief in this country and its potential for goodness blossomed.

Then Trump came along and cut it out, without care or consultation. And like that years of progress was decimated.

Or so it would seem.

But the people involved with Bears Ears Monument are finding what I would wish for any group experiencing this kind of trauma—power.

They came together to grieve, and also to plan. They are speaking out against Trump’s actions, while reaching out and finding new supporters. Simply put, they are a determined community that refuses to be defined by an unjust setback. They press on.

Last week at a gathering in Utah, National Parks Conservation Association’s Davina Smith-Idjesa said it well: “We are still here. Today is more than a protest, it is a gathering of shared voices, shared grief, shared healing, and shared determination…when we leave this place, let us carry this unity with us.” She elaborated next actions and upcoming efforts to bring back land protections in Utah, and then she closed by saying, “Our connection to this land did not begin with a presidential proclamation. And it will not end with one.”

Right now, we are let down by a government that is abandoning its commitments, and it could be easy to become cynical or despondent. Instead, we find hope in communities like this and discover peace in understanding that we have power when we join them.

With love and hope for the future,

Stephanie

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Read more about Bears Ears here.

Gosh, I’m tired. A new baby rests in my arms as I delicately tap buttons on my phone. A pile of laundry is waiting down the hall. My body, pulled in every direction, simultaneously yearns for the bed and feels completely uneasy with rest.

As I type these words, I know that there is a daunting world of need just a tab away. Recent headlines keep drawing me to the computer—or really to any scrap of nearby paper—to jot down information, ideas, and responses. The dismal state of our public land management begs to be confronted.

But then, this baby stirs. He lifts his eyes, looking to me for comfort, and I don’t finish the big essay. I don’t even finish the thought.

It’s a strange juxtaposition—going from daunting, complex issues that affect life and death to holding my son, whose immediate survival need is to receive milk from me. I divert from being lost in my mind to completely focusing on my body. I go from deliberating the future to grounding in the present.

Like the flip of a switch.

As night-and-day as it may seem, it is all connected in me. I want my kids to thrive, and I want to be a part of creating the world they grow into. I want to be a part of those big conversations that contemplate what to do, and how to be in this ever-changing country.

So right now, I shift my focus here, and offer one small observation about the big dilemma we’re in: the immediate need for connection and life overcomes the big idea every time.

It’s a common thread I see in the news stories of late, that the need for land, water, nature, community, and life itself is abundant in protests against this administration. In response, the GOP is offering big, elaborate long-term explanations of trickle-down wealth. I don’t see how it can work.

Americans have something more pressing to attend to. No matter the distractions or hardships, we’re going to take care of our lives. And little by little, we’re going to find a world where they can thrive.

With love and hope for the future,

Stephanie

Thank you for spending some of your time here with me today.

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Anyone passing through the state for more than 5 minutes knows one thing for certain: you don’t mess with Texas. The unofficial state slogan covers souvenirs, billboards, and bumper stickers everywhere from Amarillo to Houston. It is ubiquitously visible in the landscape, but even more than that, the attitude that comes with it seems to be worn proudly …

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After a three-week hiatus, I headed over to my sister’s house for a visit. She suggested it offhand the day before: “Hey, you should come see the backyard. It isn’t done yet, but we’ve been working on it.” She’s a master at downplaying her accomplishments, but I knew when she mentioned it that it would be worth seeing.

It didn’t disappoint.

Emerging from …

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The importance of environmental protection is back in the national spotlight, thanks to a brazen attempt by Republicans to attack the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Earth Day. In the wake of the public’s defense of the law, discussions about biodiversity have finally permeated the mainstream. I haven’t seen energy like this since I was a wide-eyed Plan…

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After the Senate voted this week to approve toxic mining in Minnesota’s treasured wilderness recreation area, conservation leaders responded en masse. I’m grateful for their insight and rapid information sharing, and I am following their lead on how to best respond.

In all of this, one message in particular stood out to me. Ingrid Lyons, Executive Direct…

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In a social sciences grad school course, a classmate asked about how we should navigate community organizing with a Congress that worked against local needs. My wonderful professor practically scoffed when she answered. “That matters,” she said. “But real change comes at the local level—in-person, grassroots mobilizing where people come together and tak…

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It’s official, we’ve got a new job. After this week’s environmental shenanigans, it has become clear that our new call of duty is to call and write Congress every day to oppose the consistent assaults on our public land and water.

We can just count on them trying a new tactic when we defeat their last one.

This week, we have a few important land-steal a…

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Just a few hundred feet from a bustling river-adjacent greenway, a local resident explained just how remarkable its success truly was. He marveled at how far his city’s relationship had come with its waterway, and his eyes grew large as he said, “I mean for years it was used essentially as a sewer. No one wanted to go near it.”

The subtext was somethin…

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Watching Americans enter the Olympic arena during the games’ opening ceremonies, I felt a cringe of dread. On the international stage, I wondered how our appearance would be met, and I couldn’t imagine too many well wishers among our once-close international friends.

Our world-class athletes wa…

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Years ago, I visited communities around my small city and asked residents what they would like to see in their neighborhood parks. Over months, people sent in comments, answered questionnaires, or had discussions with me in local events and meetings to answer this question.

Reliably, there were three things that people agreed upon, no matter how big the…

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Yesterday evening, the House passed a bill that, if signed into law, will open up 225,000 acres of federal land for toxic mining by a foreign company. It now moves on to the Senate.

The bill, known as H.J. Res. 140, is one we all need to quickly get familiar with.

Here’s what the proposal does:

1. Uses the Congression…

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As Minnesotans stand up against ICE agents, another attack is looming large over their precious community. Last week, a Republican US House Representative quietly introduced a bill that would undo protections for land around the pristine Boundary Waters, a collection of over one thousand gorgeously untouched lakes in Northern Minnesota.

For over 50 year…

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A note to my red homestate, MAGA friends and family members, sorting through complicated feelings:

You helped me tie my shoes, we hunted Easter eggs together, you cheered me on at my soccer game. You held me when I was a baby, we explored Grandma’s backyard together.

I g…

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Amidst the explosive chaos Trump is brewing, there are steady battles for justice that continue to need our attention. This one, thankfully, didn’t slip under the radar of environmental advocates.

The outcome gives us a chance to celebrate the power o…

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Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen attacks on our wildlife and natural lands that were devastating precursors to the assaults now brewing against humanity.

Those in power are validating the…

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Valuing nature is a gift.

It is part of seeing ourselves as a part of something bigger, and, though it may make us feel weak or insignificant with its grandness, it is a vital part of understanding our worth.

If we can treasure a herd of deer that wanders into our backyard, we are more apt to treasure the quiet parts of ourselves that delicately tread t…

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But luckily, we are a country full of multitasking people. Between tree trimming and cookie decorating, we jo…

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Here are a few hopeful legal challenges to get you inspired and keep you fighting.

1. The infamous park pass photo:

Park enth…

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We need all hands on deck as lawmakers try to sneak in a barrage of last-minute legislation that, if successful, would degrade our public land for decades to come. The attempt is truly Scrooge-worthy, and undermines…

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