As I write this, I want to introduce myself as I have not in past articles.  My name is Skyler Hardy, and I was born and raised in California, playing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains within the El Dorado National Forest.  I began my career within the US National Parks many years ago, and over time, I have worked with internal and external clients from around the world.  Folks including residents from around the United States, Italy, Russia, Africa, Thailand, Ecuador, and the list goes on.  I have firsthand witnessed how these beautiful places make indescribable impacts on humans.  Over time I have been blessed to climb and Backpack on many Federal Lands and climb many Mountains.  With a brief background, please find my reasoning for not selling off the National Public Lands. 

Regardless of an individual’s Political beliefs and preferences, I have seen these wild places impact many people…all from a different background and path than the other person.  All these people are coming together to visit such beautiful places.  All for his or her own personal reasons.  If society has ever been close to a united equality and peace, these environments are where this is found from adventurers to day trippers alike.

Many gateway communities and States rely on the Economic Impact of these Wild Lands.  On my visit of Manzano Mountain Wilderness I found a space of solitude, one that felt like a natural dance…. A Sky Island that rises above the lands below, moving in harmony with the Monsoon Storm far off on the horizon.   Allowing for stronger mental health, a healthier economy, and a better way of living for everyone.  For myself, I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and he has used these Wild Lands to impact my life in ways that my words may fail to describe.  Hopefully, between these sentences and my Photographs, we can collectively realize the importance of Public Lands to our Nation and the World.  When I spent many hours in the Mazatzal Wilderness.  The views here towards the Coconino Rim and towards the Four Peaks Wilderness, and Superstition Wilderness and Ridgeline that grabs hold of me to this day.  The desolation feeling that is brought on by this Wilderness only brings peace and healing to those who venture into its bounds… As also the repetitive re-finding of ones self.  A range that stirs a desire to challenge oneself in ways that cannot be described.

Regardless of Economic impact and local impact… The people who partake in these Wild Places find a deep meaning and need for the silence and secluded state found here.  I will not say that I have been through the worst things in this world, but I have been through my own trials and difficulties.  Through every season of my life, the Wilderness has given me a space that was needed, to be myself and to re learn who I was even.  To decompress, to heal internal wounds, to solve problems, and to discover the meaning of lessons taught… That I would not have found in the busy life of the city.

I know that many folks who have crossed paths with me in life would say something similar.  For someone like me, the idea of these Lands being privatized and or sold off hurt me in a way that is difficult to explain. Any people who are close to me feel the same.  If you are reading this, please fight for the opposition of selling our Public Lands here in America.  They are more of a difference than many can comprehend.

-Sky