The Idea of Public Lands Needs No Defense, It Only Needs Defenders

Millions of acres of high desert public lands in central and eastern Oregon include some of the region’s most beloved areas like Steens Mountain, the Owyhee Canyonlands, the John Day River and Hart Mountain. Those who enjoy exploring these sinuous canyons, awe-inspiring vistas and vast expanses of sagebrush may be familiar with Edward Abbey’s often-cited quote from 1977: “The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.”

In the decades since this was written, community-based organizations like Oregon Natural Desert Association have worked tirelessly to defend wilderness as an imperfect but effective conservation tool to protect federal lands from mining, industrial development, road construction and other activities that permanently alter an ecosystem’s ability to provide clean water, sustainable recreation and healthy wildlife populations.

For more than 35 years, ONDA has joined with local communities, Tribal Nations, business leaders and others to protect species and habitat, recreational experiences, sacred sites and many other values. Through the years, we have fended off countless threats to wildlands, wildlife, rivers and places we all hold dear. In fact, a small group of Oregon desert defenders formed ONDA in 1987 specifically to push back against archaic, weak, loophole-riddled federal public lands laws used by the extractive industries to turn a profit, rather than benefit all Americans as intended.

We’re now entering an entirely new era in which it is not just the wild places that need defense, but the mere existence of public lands. As Senator Martin Heinrich said during a recent roundtable about the gutting of the federal workforce, “Trump and Musk created this chaos with one goal in mind: to… sell and take your public lands.”

ONDA invites you to take action for the very survival of public lands and the federal agencies we rely on to manage them. If you enjoy the millions of acres of public lands in Oregon, now is the time to be vigilant. Public lands need defenders. Fortunately, your defense of public lands puts you in good company: Recent polling shows an astounding 82% of voters oppose selling of federal public lands while 88% support keeping existing protective designations in place. These are astonishing majorities, particularly given today’s ideological divides.

And, if you hear tepid replies from elected leaders — things like, “the courts will take care of it” or “they won’t actually do that” — just ask yourself how many times these assertions have been proven false in recent memory. Speak up, be persistent and demand that your representatives actually represent you by taking immediate, proactive actions to protect public lands and their management agencies. Make sure your elected leaders know you will oppose rollbacks, sell-offs or weakening of the laws protecting the public lands that have been called “Americas best idea” and “our common ground” for good reason. Thank you for your vigilance and advocacy as we join together to be the defenders imagined decades ago. It may not be a new concept but it is, once again, a timely one.

—Ryan Houston, Executive Director, Oregon Natural Desert Association