Happy Earth Day from the team at Full Court Press! This year to honor the day, we plan to celebrate the work that we respect so much, and the work of many of our clients: efforts to conserve and protect our beautiful earth for future generations. Many of our country’s most beautiful places are protected and preserved in the form of public lands. This may take the form of national monuments, national parks, or national forests. It is important to protect these places so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy them the same way we do. Below, the FCP team shares some of our favorite public lands. We are so grateful to the people and organizations that work hard to safeguard these lands.
Audrey’s Favorite: Zion National Park
This summer I went to Zion National Park for the first time and was blown away. Located in southwest Utah nature preserve, this site is distinguished by Zion Canyon’s steep red cliffs. I got to hike iconic summits on the canyon ridge, and walk in the Virginia river narrows and see the emerald pools. Here’s a photo at the of Angel’s landing, which is at the top of Zion Canyon’s 270 million-year-old rock layers. I’m always humbled and thankful for our national parks and the people who are dedicated to preserving them – Earth Day is a great excuse to celebrate!
Caitlin’s Favorite: Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach, which is managed by the National Park Service, bears a great deal of significance in my family. Stinson has been our family vacation destination for nearly 25 years. As a child, I remember running in the sand, looking for seashells and swimming in what seemed like the coldest water I’d ever felt in my short life. As an adult, I still look forward to our yearly trips to Stinson, usually for Thanksgiving, to take a break from the noise and commotion of San Francisco and Oakland and enjoy the quiet. Even the Dalai Lama has visited the area and recognized it for its unique meditative qualities. It’s hard to imagine my childhood without Stinson Beach, and it’s all too easy to forget that this sentimental oasis for my family wouldn’t be as beautiful or serene without the management of the National Park Service.
Erika’s Favorite: Montaña de Oro State Park
It may not be the home of my childhood memories or a weekend getaway closest to the Bay, but I have very fond memories at Montaña de Oro State Park. Located on the Central Coast of California and managed by the California State Parks Department, it is composed of 8,000 acres of rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, streams, canyons, and coastal plains and hills, peppered with wildflowers. I feel lucky that conservationists and Californians decided this land was worth protecting. The park is the perfect spot for a relaxed, breezy walk along seaside cliffs, and an even better one for scrambling over rocky tide pools and catching a spectacular sunset.
Dan’s Favorite: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
While I’ve only been once, the impact of canoeing in the Boundary Waters cannot be understated. The massive preserve is a million acre wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, which is managed by the United States Forest Service. Summer in the boundary waters is a canoe-playground. Paddling and portaging (carrying) my canoe with great friends across small land bridges to the next lake is one of my favorite summertime memories.
(photo courtesy Boundary Waters Outfitters)
Erin’s Favorite: Public Lands of the California Desert
I’m hard-pressed to select an all-time favorite national park or monument, because I’ve fallen in love with every one I’ve ever set foot on. So many of my childhood memories are set beneath the towering red rocks of Arches, Bryce and Zion in Southern Utah. Exploring the national forests of Northern California leaves me starry-eyed as an adult. But if I had to choose one region to highlight it’d be our California Desert. The Desert’s public lands are under threat right now in light of the Trump administration’s aim to reopen the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), a move that would jeopardize its most sensitive natural and cultural resources and our ability visit and enjoy these precious places. I’m celebrating Earth Day this year by asking anyone who loves the Desert (or public lands in general, really) to call their congressional representative to say they want to see the DRECP left untouched. The number for the US Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121 — on behalf of myself, and the Earth, I thank you.
Wherever your Earth Day Celebrations may take you, we hope you’ll take some time out to appreciate our country’s most treasured places, including our national parks, forests, monument and other lands. It is our great hope that we will continue to value and protect our nation’s public lands.