Wild, Layered, Complex—Your Love Letter to Our National Parks

This article was originally published in our Sunday Email Newsletter. Sent once a week, every weekend.

Between budget cuts, staff reductions, and leadership shake-ups, recent weeks have been tough on our public lands. With the help of our subscribers, we’re focusing on what makes them worth fighting for.

By Hannah Truby

Good morning, and Happy National Park Week!

Of all the reasons to visit a National Park, one that’s been especially loud in my head lately is this: the beauty of our public lands reminds me that America is more than its mess, more than its flaws—much like our parks, we are wild, layered, and complex.

Times like these remind me that the creation of our National Parks—often called the country’s “best idea”—was born as, and remains, a fragile experiment: balancing access and preservation, welcoming without ruining, revering without exploiting. I’d like to think we’re still up to the task.

Between budget cuts, staff reductions, and leadership shake-ups, recent weeks have been tough on our public lands. With your help, we’re focusing on what makes them worth fighting for—and you delivered.

Below are some of the amazing photos subscribers sent in of themselves exploring and loving our National Parks, along with notes on what keeps them coming back to these wild, public lands.