America is a breathtakingly beautiful country. From the Rockies to the Appalachian Trail, from the Grand Canyon to Acadia, its majesty is all around. If you’ve never had your breath taken away by America’s natural beauty, you haven’t been looking very hard.

America has led the world in the preservation of natural spaces for all of its people to experience and has long been the envy of the world in this regard. Every American holds equal ownership of these places and has a fundamental right to enjoy them. These natural resources should be left in a pristine condition for our children and children’s children to enjoy. Visits to and memories of our natural monuments should tie generations together.

Additionally, our waterways are an integral part of our ecosystem, and they’re interconnected in a way that makes it difficult to protect one without protecting all of them. These waterways are necessary for farming and drinking water, and damaging them harms us all.

The creation and protection of public land has historically been a bipartisan ideal. In recent years, some industry groups have used financial and political power to influence elected officials against the greater public interest. This misguided effort must be stopped and protections must be put in place to prevent public lands from being usurped for private benefit.