Public Lands -- A lot to be thankful for!
This Thanksgiving holiday season gives me another opportunity to pause and appreciate the vast public lands that are adjacent to the area I live in, near Pocatello, Idaho. The very livelihood of my family is derived from my job as a BLM Minerals Manager regulating phosphate mining on public lands in southeast Idaho.
These lands contain large deposits of valuable minerals that are recovered to produce fertilizer and phosphorus based chemicals. This development, part of BLM’s multiple-use mission, is an important basis of our American standard of living and contributes to healthy economies. Mineral development and processing provides employment and livelihood for hundreds of employees and their families.
In my free time, I feel fortunate to be able to take frequent trail runs, bicycle rides, camping trips and participate in a multitude of outdoor activities that the mountainous public lands above my home afford. The recreational activities offered by the public lands have been an important part of our family’s time spent together. Now our kids are grown and gone, but I continue to spend time acquainting my grandchildren with public lands and the special activities and experiences that they offer.