A 2025 Year-in-Review Poem
At this time of year, you usually hear
of a story of Whoville and that story is grand.
But the Whoville in this story
is our own public land.
And the Grinch, in this case,
is a whole cast of characters
who know not the value
of species and place.
With their short-sighted views
And their too small of hearts,
they only love lands
where they drive their golf carts.
At first, they thought, well, these lands
are no good…we might as well sell ‘em.
But that bad idea
lost them public momentum.
Then the grinches thought,
OH! We know what these lands need…
And with that, the dismantling
began at light-speed…
for bees, bears, and toads.
But they didn’t stop there,
Oh no, no indeed….
Their extractive agenda
grew like a weed.
they came for our trees—
for their hearts, it would seem,
were just filled up with greed.
They came for our grasslands
and our great sagebrush sea
for industry.
Less rules and less ‘ologists—
Let them go and good riddance!
Who cares about sage grouse
So the impacts to nature
snowball and grow bigger,
putting ever-more
species in danger.
Then the grinches thought,
HEY!
If they won’t let us sell it,
we’ll GIVE it away!
…It’s as if their small hearts
just continue to shrink,
along with the lands
But this story’s not over,
it's ours to amend,
for the power of people
can change how things end.
So as 2025
winds down to a close,
we remember the season
when all hearts can grow…
for all hearts need more room
to care more for our lands
and so growing our hearts
is what the moment demands!
For these lands are GINORMOUS
rather than small:
six hundred million acres
owned by us all!
To help all our hearts
grow three times in size,
seek chances this new year
to protect wildlife:
Submit your comments,
make your voices be heard,
call your representatives,
share the good word!
For this Whoville is real
and it’s ours to defend!
When the people speak up,
the story won’t end.
And maybe, just maybe,
if hearts grow anew,
those grinches will learn
what the Whos always knew:
that these lands are too precious
to sell off or spoil,
that life here runs deeper
than lumber or oil.
So this holiday season,
as carols are sung,
remember this promise
and pass it along:
From ocean to meadow,
from mountains to sand,
we're ALL the defenders
of our public lands.
Author
Keats Conley
