Author discusses government land use
Yellowstone National Park hosted more than 4.8 million visitors in 2021, hitting its highest recorded number alongside 44 other parks. Although several facilities closed because of the pandemic, reopening national parks resulted in visit spikes as millions of people sought relief and solace in the outdoors.
UC Hastings College of the Law Emeritus professor John Leshy hones in on this subject and the history of American public lands in his book, “Our Common Ground.” Although several books have been written about primary federal land agencies, “Our Common Ground” is the first comprehensive look at America’s public lands in half a century and explains the political decisions that led the United States to hold one-third of the nation’s land for conservation, recreation and education.
To kick off Earth Week, the USC Office of Sustainability, Undergraduate Student Government, Graduate Student Government and Gould School of Law hosted a book release event for “Our Common Ground” Monday in the Musick Law Building. Leshy, who also formerly served as the U.S. Department of the Interior solicitor, presented on his book’s major themes and lessons to an audience of more than a dozen students, many of which were law students.
Brandon Kerns, a second year student studying law who serves as the president of the Energy and Environmental Law Society, helped organize the event.
“For law students, environmental law is so broad,” Kerns said. “It’s important for students to get exposure while they’re in law school because once you start your career, oftentimes, it takes many years to get to a place that you want to be.”
After a brief introduction by Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law Robin Craig, Leshy began by explaining that the U.S. government currently holds more than 600 million acres of land, equivalent to nearly four times the size of France.
“In my way of thinking, America’s public lands are one of America’s greatest institutions,” Leshy said. “Their reach surprises many, given that our culture has always celebrated private property and distrust of government, particularly the national government.”
“Our Common Ground” primarily focuses on public land history during and after the 1890s, when Congress began creating political decisions to safeguard America’s land for broad conservation purposes. However, Leshy acknowledged that foreign countries acquired the land from Indigeneous people, who experienced a long history of suffering and unjust treatment.
Leshy then delved into common myths surrounding public lands, including the misconception that public lands have divided American life. Leshy pointed to colonial times, when some colonies gave up their claim to Western lands to settle disputes preventing the national government’s ratification.
“From the very beginning of the nation’s existence, the public lands have tended to unite rather than divide in American politics,” Leshy said.
Another common myth is that public land policy is a partisan issue, Leshy said. Historically, both the Republican and Democratic parties have supported protecting public lands as sites of “life-changing encounters with nature” and rich cultural and scientific resources.
Leshy’s emphasis on unity struck attendee Katherine Sims, a second year student studying law.
“It seems like from Professor Leshy’s book, he describes a more optimistic view of bipartisan consensus around protection of public lands,” Sims said. “That was cool.”
Leshy also explained that contrary to the belief that decisions over public lands have been “land grabs” by the national government, grassroots movements, such as California activists urging government officials to protect the Yosemite Valley in the 1860s, have often driven public land policy.
Much of the public favors more, better protected land, Leshy said. He told the audience he sees public land policy restoring some trust in the political process in an increasingly distrustful and polarized political environment.
“Because these lands reflect what the vast majority of Americans have sought, the result, I think, is widely considered as a political success story, showing the political process working as it’s supposed to,” Leshy said.
Leshy said public lands can bring more attention to issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
“They furnish vivid demonstrations of the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss,” Leshy said. “They help sound the alarm, arouse public opinion and stimulate new political action.”
Leshy concluded the event by underscoring the lessons the public land system can provide for successfully combating the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
“Dealing effectively with these challenges requires a frank acknowledgement that society’s collective interests must outweigh shorter term, narrower interests,” Leshy said. “American public lands are a great example of where our political system has over and over again tried to do just that. One could argue that public lands represent some of the best thinking and acting for future generations.”