The celebration of the nation’s first statewide public lands day on Saturday hopefully serves as a counterweight to the agenda unfolding in Washington, D.C. under the Trump administration.

Already we’ve seen Congress dismantle the Bureau of Land Management’s overhaul of its land-use planning process, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke undertake a review of national monuments and the Trump administration suspend the BLM’s citizen advisory boards.

Saturday, however, was a day to accentuate the positive and celebrate the abundance and variety of public lands in Colorado – from national parks and monuments to national forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, state parks, regional open spaces and urban parks. Colorado Public Lands Day is an expression of the great affection Coloradans have for their public lands and how these places are critical to our way of life, health and economy.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.