By Loren Naftali, Associate Online Editor, Environmental Law Review Journal

America’s public lands are home to fish and wildlife, clean air and water, and provide the outdoor recreation needed for our overall wellbeing. In our modern world of sedentary life, these grounds are sacred- so why doesn’t our government feel the need to protect them?

According to The National Wildfire Federation, our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other public lands are under attack. The 1872 Mining Law purported to promote the development and settlement of publicly-owned lands in the western United States. Unfortunately, this outdated federal law has allowed decades of hard rock mining, resulting in the pollution and endangerment of our fish, wildlife, and water resources. The mining law has given broad discretion for the use of public lands to the private sector, granting the “right to mine” regardless of any alternative use, proving especially dangerous with a form of legislation that contains zero environmental protection.

The Mining Law does not strictly pose danger to our wildlife and natural resources but extends to restrictions on our sanity and health. With diminishing access to public lands, our sources for the recreational activity will be limited. A recent study found that a lack of activity is associated with a negative change in personality, specifically openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. On the other hand, physical activity such as walking, leads to positive and immediate changes in blood pressure, blood flow, metabolic rate, and our head-heart axis.

Additionally, the location of this physical activity has a significant impact on our physiological responses. 150 participants were asked by experimental psychologists to rate how they felt after walking the same amount of time outdoors compared to indoors. The results were indicative, there was a substantial improvement in mood for the outdoor walk compared to the indoor walk.

These results are corroborated by further scientific evidence that discusses how regular exposure to natural resources has positive effects on human health. A study conducted in the UK, explored how more green space correlated with reduced levels of stress in deprived communities. Without contact with nature, these participants’ stress hormone cortisol did not portray a downward shift during nighttime as it should.

New legislation, regulations, or reforms are necessary to invalidate the unlimited access the private sector has to these public lands. Without such reform, the mining law supersedes any other factors and the future for our fish, wildlife, natural resources, and our own human wellbeing is uncertain.