PERSPECTIVES YOU S PEAK Selling public land for money

Theodore Roosevelt established the U.S. Forest Service in 1905 and created the modern national forest system,” according to an article by Janet Wilson of the Los Angeles Times.

GAILKATHERINEZIEGLER ASST COPYEDITOR GKZ722@CABRINI EDU

Former President Teddy Roosevelt is rolling over in his grave. Bush has proposed to sell over 200,000 acres of public and national lands in order to pay for education in the rural areas surrounding the parks, according to the Associated Press. At the risk of sounding like a treehugging, bunny-loving hippie, I want to defend these lands. After all, they are public lands and I’m apart of that public.

The proposition, “would amount to the largest sale of its kind since President

The reason for selling the land is the best idea that anyone could come up with. Education is not something that should be sacrificed or compromised at all. However, the land that the government is going to sell, pending congress approval, we will never get back.

The land will help education in those areas for a few years, but the plan is just aband-aid. More land would have to be sold years down the road. If congress approves this plan it will set a precedent for years to come. Some day the land will run out.

Education is something that should be at the top of the list for budget in America. Why are we selling off land as real estate to pay for something that every American is guaranteed?

If there is a problem paying for education, the problem is deeper and will need more attention than the government is giving it. It seems like a big, brightred flag if we are scraping together money for education for our kids.

People are pushing into rural lands all over our country and the federal and state parks are a safe haven for animals and also people. Citizens use these parks everyday for fishing, hiking and even dog-sledding. You can’t dog-sled down Fifth Avenue in New York City no matter how hard you try.

Ifthis huge amount of land is sold, I don’t see where we would draw the line as “too much.” It would open up a door to sell off any land to start compensating for our huge deficit.

Our public lands contain ancient cliff dwellings, coral reefs, canyons and mineral springs, according to cftech.com. These cannot be replaced once they are gone. It is our right to be able to enjoy these natural landmarks. Our national parks protect these natural landmarks from destruction.

Animals are being pushed from their natural habitats and selling the land will push them tighter together and blend our communities with their communities. The grizzly bear is an example of what can happen. According to sierraclub.com, limiting the natural habitat of the grizzly bear will also cut off their food sources. The bears will then gointo communities looking for things to eat and this creates a grizzly-human conflict. Although we are higher up on the food chain, I’m guessing those conflicts don’t end well for the human.

Ithink it’s time to give the parks the respect that they deserve. They are not just acres; they are our heritage as Americans. If the lands are sold, we will lose national treasures.