VIEWPOINT | Our public lands must not be for sale

Guest column by Brett Koenecke, an attorney with May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson

Americans have long enjoyed the practical and romantic aspects of the West. The West has provided us with minerals, timber, energy and space to roam freely for generations. We have a wonderful asset in the West — our public lands — which are owned by the people of the United States and held in trust for us by the federal government. Anybody can go out there and recreate, for free, any time and that is a good thing for all of us.