I hope you are settling into the New Year with ease, ready for a fresh spin around the sun. 2025 was a bit of a roller coaster ride, and I don’t expect this year to be much different, in all honesty, but all of us at PCEC are ready to respond to any challenges we may face.

We know we will need to continue responding to threats to our public lands. In the last year we saw efforts to sell off our public lands, and now we are seeing an effort to repeal The Roadless Area Conservation Rule. PCEC has been active in helping to get word out and opposing these initiatives, but it will continue to need all of our voices to make a true difference.

Join us this Wednesday, from 5 - 8pm, at Neptunes Brewery to learn more about how you can be a part of our Public Lands Action Network (PLAN). This is an opportunity to learn about real and current threats facing the places we love, and how you can get involved. You can connect with people who care about public lands, and have meaningful, in-depth conversations with local public lands experts.

As we move into 2026 we invite you to get to know Park County more intimately, and encourage you to have an adventure in your backyard. While we often think of an adventure as an activity that takes us to some distant and exotic locale, we feel the opposite can be true.

If you change the scope and purpose, a day on a trail you’ve never walked becomes an adventure; a drive to Cooke City, stopping on the way to look at the wildlife in Yellowstone becomes an adventure; grabbing a guidebook and discovering all the edible plants you can in one weekend becomes an adventure.

Over 50% of Park County are public lands, most of which are easily accessible, with options for people of all ages and abilities. It’s easy to take that for granted, or overlook that fact, and perhaps seek out taller mountains, bigger rivers or fewer people farther afield.

We’re not going to tell you where to go and we promise to keep yours and our secret spots safely hidden. Pull out a map, pick a place and go see it. Be safe, and be prepared so you come back in one piece, and remember to leave any place as you found it.

Last year I tried this out. After having lived in Park County my entire life I realized I had never hiked to Cottonwood Lake in the Crazy Mountains. I was a little embarrassed because it seems that everyone I know has been there at some point. So off I went with family and friends and was absolutely awed by the trip, and so grateful for the experience, however late to the party I was.

Getting to know my own backyard more intimately, even though I grew up here, and have explored so much, really deepened my appreciation of Park County. And even if you’re one of those few who truly have been in every nook and cranny, revisiting a favorite spot, as I often do, still inspires.

Lastly, it is a great honor for me to work with the passionate and dedicated team here at PCEC to advocate for this place and all of us in it. We will continue to devote our time to ensuring that the inherent natural character of this place remains, and that we all can have a voice in guiding the changes we see happening around us. And yes, we will need to say nope that’s not going to happen from time to time.

Celebrating Our Public Lands