This summer, millions of Americans are hiking, camping, fishing and making lifelong memories in our national parks, forests and other public lands. But something troubling is taking place behind the beautiful views: The federal agencies that safeguard these places for us are being hollowed out.

Staffing and budget cuts at the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They are empty ranger stations during peak season, trail crews that never arrive and wildfire teams stretched so thin they can’t keep up.

During the four years when I led the BLM, from 2021 to 2025, I saw what it takes to care for hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. It takes committed, dedicated people—wildfire cre

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