More than 1,000 Idahoans gathered at the Idaho State Capitol on Saturday morning in defense of public land in Idaho, amidst national efforts to privatize.
John Robison,the Public Lands and Wildlife Director for the Idaho Conservation League, organized Saturday’s event.
“Public lands are what makes us who we are as Idahoans, and we need to rally together and keep them in public hands.” Robison said.
The rally featured multiple speakers from across the state who urged attendees to take action to support Idaho’s public lands.
One of these actions is to contact federal officials in support of the “Keep Public Lands in Public Hands Act,” which was introduced to Congress by U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke from Montana. The bill aims to ban the sale or transfer of public lands to private owners.
Megan Newberry says access to the outdoors in Idaho played a large part in why she moved to the state. She is worried about increased efforts to remove that access.
“The South obviously has a lot of outdoor stuff, but there's just not nearly as much public access as there is here. And I'm just not willing to give that up or let anybody else take it," said Newberry.
Public land takes up more than 60% of Idaho’s total area, with 3.5 million acres of national conservation land.
