Bears Ears National Monument in San Juan County, Utah on April 22, 2026. —George Frey—Getty ImagesExperiencing wild, open, and natural spaces is part of what it means to me to be American, and I know I'm not alone in that belief.Our shared connection to nature crosses geography, generations, and political beliefs. From a neighborhood trail to a national park or a stretch of open desert, the outdoors gives us places to come together, find perspective, and experience something larger than ourselves.At a time of growing loneliness, division, and stress, being outside can improve physical and mental well-being, strengthen community, and reconnect us with one another. For millions of Americans, public lands make that possible.But the places that sustain that connection are under growing pressure due to decisions made by elected leaders. That is why, as we head into this year’s midterm election, voters must ask every candidate a simple question: How will you protect our public lands?The answer will help determine what we leave future generations. Consider Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. A presidential proclamation issued this summer reduced the monument’s boundaries from roughly 1.36 million acres to about 131,000, removing monument protections from more than 90% of the landscape. Bears Ears is a living cultural landscape and sacred ancestral homeland of deep significance to Tribal Nations. Similar decisions are unfolding across the country. Congress rolled back protections for the Boundary Waters, opening the door to mining in its headwaters. The Trump Administration is also considering transferring a parcel of Yosemite National Park to a private developer. Pristine roadless backcountry may also be opened to development and extraction. These decisions will have lasting consequences. There is room for honest debate about how public lands should be managed. Recreation, conservation, grazing, timber, energy development, and local economies all deserve consideration. Responsible stewardship requires balancing those interests while protecting the places that generations of Americans have worked to preserve.That debate matters because public lands are not only a conservation legacy—they are also an economic engine.Outdoor recreation generates $1.3 trillion in economic output and supports 5.2 million American jobs. Communities and businesses across the country depend on the forests, rivers, trails, parks, and open spaces that draw people outdoors. The meaning runs deep. Public lands are among the few places in American life that connect all of us. The rock climber in Yosemite and the hunter in Montana may not share the same politics, but they share a stake in keeping these places healthy, accessible, and protected. Public lands remind us that our common ground is more than an idea—they’re real places beneath our feet. The decisions made today will outlast this administration and this Congress. Once public lands are permanently altered, fragmented, or developed, there’s no going back.One of the best ways to protect these places is to help connect more people to experience them. People protect what they know. They fight for places that become part of their lives. The future of our public lands will be decided by whether Americans still believe they are worth protecting, and whether we elect leaders who believe it too.As candidates ask for our vote, we should ask where they stand. Look at the choices they have made. Look at the policies they support and listen carefully to their answers. For generations, Americans of every political persuasion have chosen to safeguard extraordinary places for everyone who would come after them. The forests, rivers, and mountains we enjoy today exist because of those choices.Now, the choice is ours. We can treat public lands as another political issue, or we can recognize them for what they are: places that make us healthier, bring us together, and connect us to something larger than ourselves. This November, we must elect leaders who believe that public lands are worth protecting.