Jeremy Sheaffer is Maine state director for The Wilderness Society. 

Another Earth Day has come and gone. 

River, beach and city park cleanups have taken place; speeches have been made; and politicians have offered their obligatory support for the natural world. Yet across the country, so much of what makes America great is under threat. Powerful special interests wield far too much influence over our democracy, and constitutional freedoms— like the ability to speak out in public — are being challenged in ways we haven’t seen for years. 

America’s national parks, national monuments and other public lands are now squarely in the crosshairs of the administration and its cynical efforts to hand over control of our shared heritage to some of the most powerful corporations in the world — all at the expense of our freedom to roam the great outdoors. 

A proposed federal budget would slash National Park Service funding so deeply that parks across the country would be asked to do more with far less, even as visitation remains high and maintenance needs continue to grow. That should alarm every Mainer who values Acadia National Park, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument or the many communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy public lands and the visitors they draw. 

At the same time, the administration has launched a full-on assault on our national forests by attempting to unravel the Roadless Rule — one of the most important conservation safeguards in modern history. The Forest Service estimates the rule currently protects nearly 45 million acres of national forest land, including roadless areas in Maine’s portion of the White Mountain National Forest. These protections generally bar road construction, road reconstruction and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas, with limited exceptions. 

Beyond Maine, some of the last expanses of truly wild country in the world are at risk of being lost forever if these proposals move forward. Even iconic places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon face the same peril. 

These attacks are being driven largely by special interests eager to benefit from tax cuts and deregulation. When it comes to public lands, that means more money in their pockets — and struggling parks and fewer wild places for the rest of us. 

Fortunately, as the old saying goes, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.” Our leaders in Washington, D.C., have the power to steer us toward a better path. Sen. Susan Collins, as chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, wields enormous influence over federal spending, including funding for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Sen. Angus King serves as ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, giving him direct oversight of the very systems now under threat. 

In a polarized Washington, there are few members of Congress better positioned to defend America’s public lands — not only in Maine, but across the country. We’ve already seen them join a bipartisan coalition in the Senate to protect Minnesota’s Boundary Waters from foreign mining.  

Now, they can help secure full, durable funding for the National Park Service, including the staffing and stewardship needed to protect Acadia and Katahdin Woods and Waters. And we should expect them to oppose efforts to roll back conservation safeguards, including attempts to repeal the Roadless Rule. 

This isn’t just about making sure we have places to hike, hunt and vacation. It’s about conserving, for future generations, the landscapes that are so deeply tied to our identity as Americans. Sens. Collins and King have an opportunity to keep this promise by standing with the people of Maine — not powerful special interests seeking to raid our shared inheritance. 

Earth Day is a time to celebrate. The days after Earth Day are when Mainers must call on our elected leaders and remind them that protecting America’s public lands is what truly makes our country great.