体验野外、开放和自然的空间是对我而言成为美国人的意义的一部分，我知道我并不是唯一持有这种信念的人。
Experiencing wild, open, and natural spaces is part of what it means to me to be American, and I know I'm not alone in that belief.
我们与自然的共同联系跨越地理、世代和政治信仰。无论是社区小径、国家公园，还是一片开阔的沙漠，户外都为我们提供了聚在一起、获得视角、体验比自身更宏大事物的场所。
Our shared connection to nature crosses geography, generations, and political beliefs. From a neighborhood trail to a national park or a stretch of open desert, the outdoors gives us places to come together, find perspective, and experience something larger than ourselves.
在孤独、分裂和压力日益加剧的时刻，走进户外可以改善身心健康，增强社区凝聚力，并让我们重新建立彼此的联系。对数百万美国人而言，公共土地使这一切成为可能。
At a time of growing loneliness, division, and stress, being outside can improve physical and mental well-being, strengthen community, and reconnect us with one another. For millions of Americans, public lands make that possible.
但维系这种联系的地方正因当选领导人的决策而面临日益增长的压力。这就是为什么，随着今年中期选举的临近，选民必须向每一位候选人提出一个简单的问题：你将如何保护我们的公共土地？答案将有助于决定我们留给后代什么。
But the places that sustain that connection are under growing pressure due to decisions made by elected leaders. That is why, as we head into this year’s midterm election, voters must ask every candidate a simple question: How will you protect our public lands? The answer will help determine what we leave future generations.
可以考察犹他州的熊耳国家纪念碑。今年夏天发布的一项总统公告将该纪念碑的边界从大约136万英亩缩减至约13.1万英亩，使超过90%的景观失去纪念碑保护。熊耳是一个具有深远意义的活文化景观，也是部落民族神圣的祖先家园。
Consider Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. A presidential proclamation issued this summer reduced the monument’s boundaries from roughly 1.36 million acres to about 131,000, removing monument protections from more than 90% of the landscape. Bears Ears is a living cultural landscape and sacred ancestral homeland of deep significance to Tribal Nations.
类似的决策正在全国范围内展开。国会撤销了对边界水域的保护，为其源头地区的采矿开辟了道路。特朗普政府也在考虑将优胜美地国家公园的一块土地转让给私人开发商。原始的无道路后背地区也可能被开放用于开发和资源开采。这些决策将产生持久的影响。
Similar decisions are unfolding across the country. Congress rolled back protections for the Boundary Waters, opening the door to mining in its headwaters. The Trump Administration is also considering transferring a parcel of Yosemite National Park to a private developer. Pristine roadless backcountry may also be opened to development and extraction. These decisions will have lasting consequences.
关于公共土地应如何管理，诚实的讨论空间是存在的。休闲、保护、放牧、木材、能源开发以及地方经济都值得被考虑。负责任的管理要求在保护历代美国人努力保存的地方的同时，平衡这些利益。
There is room for honest debate about how public lands should be managed. Recreation, conservation, grazing, timber, energy development, and local economies all deserve consideration. Responsible stewardship requires balancing those interests while protecting the places that generations of Americans have worked to preserve.
这场讨论很重要，因为公共土地不仅是保护遗产，它们也是经济引擎。
That debate matters because public lands are not only a conservation legacy—they are also an economic engine.
户外休闲活动创造了1.3万亿美元的经济产出，并支持了520万个美国就业岗位。全国各地的社区和企业依赖于吸引人们走向户外的森林、河流、小径、公园和开放空间。
Outdoor recreation generates $1.3 trillion in economic output and supports 5.2 million American jobs. Communities and businesses across the country depend on the forests, rivers, trails, parks, and open spaces that draw people outdoors.
其意义深远。公共土地是美国生活中为数不多的能够将我们所有人联系在一起的地方之一。约塞米蒂的攀岩者和蒙大拿州的猎人可能不持有相同的政治观点，但他们在这些地方保持健康、可及和受保护方面有着共同的利益。公共土地提醒我们，我们的共同基础不仅仅是一个想法——它们是脚下真实存在的地方。
The meaning runs deep. Public lands are among the few places in American life that connect all of us. The rock climber in Yosemite and the hunter in Montana may not share the same politics, but they share a stake in keeping these places healthy, accessible, and protected. Public lands remind us that our common ground is more than an idea—they’re real places beneath our feet.
今天所做的决定将超越本届政府和本届国会。一旦公共土地被永久改变、碎片化或开发，就无法回头。
The decisions made today will outlast this administration and this Congress. Once public lands are permanently altered, fragmented, or developed, there’s no going back.
保护这些地方的最佳方式之一是帮助更多人走进去体验它们。人们会保护他们所熟悉的地方。他们会为成为他们生活一部分的地方而战。我们的公共土地的未来将取决于美国人是否仍然相信这些地方值得被保护，以及我们是否会选出也持有这种信念的领导人。
One of the best ways to protect these places is to help connect more people to experience them. People protect what they know. They fight for places that become part of their lives. The future of our public lands will be decided by whether Americans still believe they are worth protecting, and whether we elect leaders who believe it too.
随着候选人寻求我们的选票，我们应该询问他们的立场。看看他们所作的选择。看看他们支持的政策，并仔细倾听他们的回答。历代各种政治立场的美国人都选择保护非凡的地方，以便后来的人能够享受。我们今天所享受的森林、河流和山脉正是因为那些选择而存在。现在，选择权在于我们。
As candidates ask for our vote, we should ask where they stand. Look at the choices they have made. Look at the policies they support and listen carefully to their answers. For generations, Americans of every political persuasion have chosen to safeguard extraordinary places for everyone who would come after them. The forests, rivers, and mountains we enjoy today exist because of those choices. Now, the choice is ours.
我们可以把公共土地视为另一个政治议题，也可以认识到它们的真实意义：它们让我们更健康，让我们团结在一起，并把我们与比我们自身更宏大的事物连接起来。今年11月，我们必须选出相信公共土地值得保护的领导人。
We can treat public lands as another political issue, or we can recognize them for what they are: places that make us healthier, bring us together, and connect us to something larger than ourselves. This November, we must elect leaders who believe that public lands are worth protecting.