While standoffs by the Bundy bunch in Oregon and Nevada are more dramatic, almost daily I hike Bureau of Land Management trails at Mud Springs, near Cortez and often see pickup trucks destroying the trails, and trash dumped.

One weekend I met children with adults picking up garbage. They told me it was because “We all have to care for our public land.” Some motorized vehicles are permitted, but there are rules to ensure the safety of dogs, horses, bicyclists, hikers and the fragile land.

I recently enjoyed a wonderful romp with my dog in the snow at Mud Springs. When we returned to my vehicle I discovered a beautiful coyote had been strangled with a long rope and dumped in the parking lot. This torture killing of wildlife was done by an individual, possibly dangerous to humans, who dumped the body where children could see the ghastly sight.

Tax dollars are spent on killing wolves from the air, gassing their pups on land, and killing any wildlife that threatens livestock grazing. Very little is allotted to protect public land from criminal behavior.

Public land is at risk because drilling, mining and fracking proponents in Congress favor giving away public land for commercial development. Congress is not protecting public land for all people. The Gold King mine spill should have been a wake up call, but our politicians turned it into an attack on the Environmental Protection Agency. Not one Colorado lawmaker has tried to change the 1872 Mining Law that basically gives public minerals to foreign or American corporations, and does not require them to clean up the poison they leave behind. Taxpayers spend billions cleaning up, and benefit nothing from their profits. Taxes also pay for all infrastructures (i.e.: logging roads, drilling pads fences, etc.) on public land while drilling, mining, and grazing fees are dirt cheap.

I grew up listening to Peter Paul and Mary sing “This land is our land.” It has never been more threatened, and will be lost unless people stand up and fight to keep it for future generations.

Phyllis Jahns Mains

Cortez