A Yellowstone Childhood, A Capitol Hill Voice

My life is a testament to the power of public lands.

When I was age 3, my family packed up and moved to West Yellowstone, Montana - my father had taken a job with one of Yellowstone National Park’s concessionaires and, little did we know, this move would sculpt the trajectory of my life. Growing up with Yellowstone as my backyard, I bore witness to the awe-inspiring majesty of this national park. From colorful geothermal pools, to rushing waterfalls, high mountain peaks, and the incredible wildlife that calls Yellowstone home, I was hooked – I knew that I wanted to grow up to study and protect spaces like Yellowstone for this and future generations.

Fast forward 30 or so years, where I’ve been a National Park Service conservation biologist, science educator, and now, an executive director of a foundation that serves public lands. These roles stem directly from my childhood experiences in Yellowstone – and now I get to provide similar experiences for a myriad of youth. But all of these spaces and life changing experiences in them are not guaranteed – public lands only remain public when they’re supported by us, the People. And, recently, there has been a movement to exploit these spaces for resources … and even to privatize them. In short: public lands need your help and the help of all who care for - and benefit from – them.

One of the ways to help is to speak up for public lands, which is why I travelled to Washington, DC to speak with representatives in advocacy of these sacred spaces. Every year, the National Park Foundation organizes an event called “Hill Day”, where nonprofit partners to national parks convene in DC to make their case with lawmakers. This year, a record 80 or so partners flew in from locations all over the U.S. for 250 meetings with representatives and senators. On my end, I met with staffers from Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA-52), and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) to ask them to support the Great American Outdoors Act and cosponsor the America the Beautiful Act, which will authorize up to 2 billion per year to be spent on public lands across the U.S.

Want to help? This is something you can do, too! Call your representatives and tell them you urge them to support these acts for the good of our public lands. The 5 Calls App makes it easy: https://5calls.org/

And, if you want to support any young Sams in their conservation journeys, please consider donating so that we can continue to inspire and prepare the next generation of park stewards. There are some powerful forces working against us but we, the People, are more powerful still.

Sam Wynns, Executive Director of The EcoLogik Institute