They must not teach about Icarus in Utah schools
The campaign against Mike Lee's public land heist is in full swing
This week, I’m writing from an extremely encouraged position for the future of our public lands.
Over the last several days, the internet has erupted with outrage over Mike Lee’s (R-UT) and Steve Daines’s (R-MT) plan to sell off up to 3.2 million acres of USFS and BLM land. Of course, if you’re not new to this fight, you know that this attack on public lands was defeated about a month ago when a smaller provision to sell 500,000 acres in Nevada and Utah was stripped from the House reconciliation bill.
While Lee’s attempt to become a public land realtor is in-and-of itself discouraging, I’m feeling pretty optimistic that his bid is going to crash and burn. Here’s why:
History is our guide. The National Parks Experience put out an excellent piece this week highlighting how a similar attempt at selling public land torched another Utah politician’s entire career. Of course, the political landscape is very different than it was in 2017, namely in the fact that Republicans are almost entirely beholden to the Trump agenda rather than to their own constituents. Nevertheless, it’s an extremely relevant episode from recent history (and perhaps one that we should be reminding Mike Lee of while we flood his phones).
The public land sale is breaking through. Over the past several days, I have seen opposition to Mike Lee’s land sale reach beyond its usual spheres. For the last several months, it seems like the opposition to repeated attacks on our public lands system has remained mostly within the realm of people that follow The Wilderness Society or NPCA on Instagram. From what I can see, this current issue has broken out far beyond that, thanks largely to a brilliant map of land that could be sold and a rock-solid social media campaign launched by a coalition of public lands creators.
Posts like this are making the danger of the public land sale very real and personal. It has transformed from something happening “out there in the wilderness” to something that directly threatens beloved landscapes. People are seeing landmarks that they cherish — places associated with the best memories of their childhood, college days, friends, or family — being placed on the hypothetical billionaire auction block. As emotional responses have triggered, it appears that like public awareness of this issue has skyrocketed.
More creators are joining the cause. I am extremely encouraged to see creators with diverse platforms (here is one example) speak up about this existential threat to our public land system. These are creators that I didn’t see say a word about the Valentines Day Massacre, post about recent attacks on the Antiquities Act, or speak out about the heinous NPS budget proposal. To me, this is a significant sign that the issue is breaking through and that a broader segment of the American public can be mobilized against it.
In my day job, I’m a 7th grade history teacher. I possess a degree in Classical Studies and spend most of my school year teaching about the Greeks and Romans, including the myths that we use to understand how they thought about themselves.
From where I’m sitting right now, it looks like Mike Lee is Icarus. He saw the wildly unpopular bid by the House to sell public lands fail and thought to himself “I can do it bigger and better. I can fly closer to the sun and succeed where no man has ever gone.”
Like Icarus, I don’t think that Mike Lee is aware of just how hot the sun is — in this case, that’s public opinion. The lessons of the past and the events of the present lead me to a place of hope that the wax of Mike Lee’s wings is going to melt, and he will crash into the sea. Unlike Icarus, who was a prisoner seeking freedom, Mike Lee will deserve exactly what he gets as he drowns in the waves of unpopularity that should result from enacting legislation opposed by 71% of Americans.
I write all this to encourage you — but don’t forget to the action required. Mike Icarus Lee is flying too high, but we have to be the sun rays that melt his wings. Here’s some tips for contacting your Senator:
Keep it simple. You’re not delivering a Homeric poem. Your message can be as simple as “I cherish our public lands and I oppose Mike Lee’s amendment to sell them.”
If you can, make it personal. Take a look at the map above and find someplace you’ve visited that could be sold off. It could be a specific location in a national forest, a campsite you visited on BLM land, or land that borders a national park you love.
Call your home state Senator AND Senators in western states. Call one or all of them. Even if you don’t live in Colorado or Oregon, you can say “I love to visit the public lands in your state and I oppose selling them.” You can find the numbers for Western Senators listed in this post.
Thanks for continuing to make noise for our public lands,
Will