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Why are public lands and other areas designated for conservation important?

Surely these areas would be better used for increasing housing and for businesses, right?

And yet many environmentalists advocate for us not to build on these lands. You may be asking yourself why.

In my opinion, we don’t need to build on more conservation areas, we need to be more efficient with the areas we have already converted to urban, human-dominated environments.

I’ve never agreed with the legal definition of wilderness, stating that it is "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain," as Indigenous peoples have been stewards of the land for hundreds of years before colonization. We can look to their present and past to find ways to live with the Earth that support both human life and our ecosystems.

Our natural resources (land, trees, air, water, plants, and animals) are finite. These ecosystems support life on this planet, and without them, Earth wouldn’t function as it should.

Many of us already know that this is true as we are feeling the impacts of climate change and are seeing the decline of species that were once abundant in our youth.

Earlier this month, congressional Republicans pushed legislation through the House to make it easier for developers and mining companies to buy federal lands under the guise of addressing the housing crisis in the western US. However, the legislation does not specify how this move will actually help alleviate the housing crisis.

With cuts to funding for national parks and other environmental agencies, it is crucial that we all pay attention to what is happening to our natural resources before we are left with nothing.

Time after time, Corporations have proven they do not have our best interests at heart and only care about their bottom line. They tend not to be altruistic and many would not engage in sustainable practices if it weren’t the law.

Still, everyone deserves fresh water, clean air, and the opportunity to enjoy wilderness areas.

Wildlife, such as the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana, also deserves a home.

Let’s pay attention, advocate for, and protect our natural resources.

Can you #FindThatLizard?

Let me know in the comments with #FoundThatLizard.