Contact: Richard Mylott, richard@wildernessworkshop.org
Date: May 12, 2026
Regarding today's Pitkin County Press Release
It is a sad state of affairs when the Forest Service is no longer able to manage the Maroon Bells Scenic Area, one of the most iconic, beloved, and heavily visited landscapes in the West. While we are grateful to Pitkin County for backfilling an unthinkable gap created by the Trump Administration, it is time for our Congress to shake off its anemia and restore full funding for our public lands — which we know is supported by the vast majority of Americans.
We are fortunate to have local capacity to address this need. Not every place has a Pitkin County with the resources to step up and assume responsibility for essential services on our public lands.
This is yet another example of the insidious and erosive degradation of our public lands. These dire situations are facing other National Forests, in many cases, with privatized, for-profit, and compromised outcomes for lands and visitors. We desperately need the restoration of stability and the normalization of staffing in our public lands agencies.
Will Roush, Executive Director, Wilderness Workshop
