So are we protecting our public lands or … ?

I never imagined writing this in our lifetime, but the time to speak up is now. Our public lands are under real threat of being sold off, developed on, and are being used as a tool for erasing our own American history. It's not too late to speak up, but we need to take action now. BACKGROUND When I was a child, my grandparents would take me and my cousin to visit national parks in the summertime. We visited Yellowstone National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and several others. I later carried this tradition with my daughter, taking her to Arches National Park, Badlands National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, among others. It's amazing what you can learn by visiting our public lands. Each unique national park holds its own history of land, people, animals, culture, and how together they make up some of America's most treasured assets and gatekeepers of history. National parks are one form of public lands, owned by the federal government and held in trust for the American people. Our national parks attracted a record 331.9 million recreation visits in 2024. That same year, Great Smoky Mountains National Park remained the most-visited national park in our country at over 12.1 million visitors to Tennessee. Not only did we make precious memories as a family, these travels opened my eyes to a world filled with culture and diversity outside the boundaries of Tennessee. I learned about plants, animals, and indigenous culture. I learned about conservation practices hands-on, hydrothermal geysers, plate tectonics, oceanic geography, habitats, seasonal migration patterns, and so, so much more. My eyes were open to our history, how we came to be, and what not to repeat. How America is so vast, beautiful, diverse, and contiguous. Unlike any other place on earth. THEN WHAT? Then came 2025. The Trump administration has been embarking across our National Parks to rewrite American History. Our national parks play a critical role in telling the story of America, how it came to be geographically, historically, and culturally. From the Grand Prismatic Spring, our country's largest hot spring and third largest in the entire world located right in Yellowstone National Park, to our nation's salamander capital of the world including habitats within Great Smoky National Park, our national parks are biodiverse treasures protected by and for the people. Now, Trump wants to remove our history from our public lands, our national parks, and weaponize these national treasures for political gain, and eventually, profit. "A lawsuit filed in Boston says orders by President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have forced park service staff to remove or censor exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including about slavery and climate change." (NPR, 2026). SO WHAT? The Trump admin is removing signs that mention slavery, climate change, and other factually accurate information pertaining to American history and our natural environment on planet Earth. "The Trump administration had instructed them to address any signs, statues or memorials it believes reflect negatively on the country." (NPR, 2025). This has led to the removal of exhibits that discuss America's history of slavery, including enslaved peoples, climate science backed by extensive research, and other aspects of America's culture and heritage. NOW WHAT? Most recently, "The park service removed explanatory panels last month from Independence National Historical Park, the site where George and Martha Washington lived with nine of their slaves in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation's capital. The judge ordered the exhibits restored on Presidents Day, the federal holiday honoring Washington's legacy." (NPR, 2026). It is nice to see that the people still have a voice and a say in honoring our country's history and legacy through our treasured public lands. But, the fight's not over, and we need all hands on deck to keep these places around for future generations. HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE What Is 5 Calls? 5calls.org is an easy way to take action now from the website or the app (I prefer downloading the app; it makes it so easy to stay updated and take immediate action without rabbit-holing news headlines). Based on your zip code, you can easily call your state reps about issues you care about, including scripts if you need a kickstart. It may feel nerve-wracking the first time or two, but I promise it gets easier and only you can give voice to the issues you care about in the best way you know how. WHERE TO TAKE ACTION Democracy Forward: https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/coalition-files-lawsuit-to-challenge-censorship-erasure-of-american-history-and-science-at-national-parks/ [2/17/27] "A coalition of organizations committed to protecting America's national parks, preserving and sharing history, promoting scientific literacy and access, and providing high-quality interpretive materials united today to challenge a new U.S. Department of the Interior policy that is actively erasing history and science from America's largest classroom – our national parks." (2026, Democracyforward.org). Indivisible Tennessee: https://indivisibletn.org/ The Wilderness Society: https://www.wilderness.org/ National Park Conservation Association: https://www.npca.org/ SORBA Tri-Cities: https://www.sorba-tricities.org/ Action for Public Lands [National] Protecting America's most visited wilderness in Minnesota, The Boundary Waters: https://action.outdooralliance.org/a/boundary-waters-cra?ms=website&utm_source=website [State] Southern Environmental Law Center taking action to protect our public lands: https://www.selc.org/ [Local] Petition to "say no" to uranium processing in Tennessee's Oldest Town: https://www.protectjonesborough.com/ Use the 5calls.org app for scripts to contact your representatives about issues you care about, right from your couch.