Through access to natural environments, we can find healing for our depressed spirits. We thus renew our strength to again confront the challenges of the industrial world.

Sitting on the beach with the ebb and flow of the tides, we resynchronize with the eternal rhythm of Nature.

A trail to a mountain peak provides us with vistas that expand our visions and inspire loftier goals.

On seasonal hikes through an aspen forest, we may witness the silvery buds of spring become the ballerinas of the summer breeze, leading to autumn's grand finale that showers the forest floor with gold just before winter's first snow. We are thus reassured that as the poetry of Nature is an endless refrain, so will the sun rise again on the next generation.

However, inconsiderate and poorly planned developments have formed blockades and declared embargoes to public access. Much of the public is denied access to the rights and heritage that Nature endowed to all. The music and lyrics of Nature should be free concerts for the public, not just for those who can afford box and reserved front row seats. The art and beauty of Nature should be free public exhibits and not just for those who can afford private collections. Even from a purely pragmatic aspect, access is a public right when these resources are retained with taxpayer dollars. Much of these inaccessible lands are technically public lands in the first place.

The Western Alliance for Nature also has a program to accept land along the coast offered to the public as a required condition of development. Once accepted, these donations of land will provide the means for the public to access beaches and trails.