When I was 13 years old, I went to rehab. I was severely depression and I struggled with anxiety. I turned to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate. I didn't think I'd live until I was 30. I'm 34 now.

Today, I can say with confidence that the outdoors saved my life.

I learned to manage my anxiety and depression through skiing and climbing on public lands. I'm sure everyone can relate to my experience of finding healing in nature.

My livelihood and health depend on access to protected public lands and a stable climate. Right now, both are at risk.

Climate change isn't a thing of the future - it's happening right now. In my home in Utah, our historically light, fluffy powder snow is changing as temperatures warm to the extent that our state's slogan - the Greatest Snow on Earth - may no longer hold true.

Our public lands need to be a part of the solution to climate change, not a source of the problem. 25% of our nation's greenhouse gas emissions come from public lands. The American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solutions Act requires us to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from public lands by 2040.

We have a tendency as a society to compartmentalize public lands, climate change and health into separate boxes, but the truth is, they are all related. Humans need land to roam, clean air to breathe, and fresh water to drink. When we become disconnected from nature, we become depressed.

As an adult, I learned how to live without being dependent on drugs and alcohol by finding healing in nature and building a life outdoors. Just like I learned how to combat my addiction, so too can our country learn to thrive without our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels.

Testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee was one of the scarier things I've done. I believe we all must dig deep and do everything we can, including things that terrify us, in order to avoid the worst case scenarios of climate change.

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