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Review | Our Common Ground: A History Of America’s Public Lands

The title of John D. Leshy’s political history of America’s public lands, Our Common Ground, introduces the central fact of the story he invites us to read. The American federal public land estate is our land, a shared heritage of more than 600 million acres owned collectively by the American people and managed by the federal government. Yet despite a vast literature on public lands, which he points out focuses mostly on categories such as national parks or forests, much of the American public does not have a comprehensive understanding of how they came to have such a public land legacy.

Traveler's View: Has The Golden Age Of National Parks Slipped Away While We Weren't Watching?

Is it just a pandemic phase we're going through, or has the golden age of national parks slipped away while we struggled with reservations for camping and even entering parks, when the Instagram age has made photos seemingly more important than experiences in the parks, and when a Facebook page that tracks the "dumb, dangerous, illegal, and what-where-they-thinking exploits" of Yellowstone National Park gained traction?

Celebrating Canadian Ranching History At Bar U

Less than an hour’s drive southwest of Calgary, Bar U Ranch National Historic Site — the only one administered by Parks Canada to celebrate ranching history — recently received infrastructure funding to preserve key buildings. The investment ensures visitors can have authentic experiences for years to come at a site with the country’s largest collection of historical ranch buildings.

The Everglades Foundation

The Everglades Foundation works to restore and protect America’s Everglades through science, advocacy, and education. The Everglades provides drinking water to 9 million Floridians, habitat to nearly 2,000 species of plants and animals – more than 70 of which are federally threatened or endangered – and encompasses four National Parks, including Everglades National Park. At the heart of Everglades restoration is the water that connects our habitats, our communities, and our economy in Florida. The Everglades Foundation works tirelessly to secure the state and federal funding needed to modernize South Florida’s woefully outdated water infrastructure, restore the flow of desperately needed clean water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay, and reduce harmful discharges of toxic algae and other pollutants to coastal estuaries.