Why Outdoor Enthusiasts Might Be the Key to Saving Public Lands

There’s been plenty of post-game analysis about what the new Congress will mean for the country and for public lands.

One thing, however, is clear. Outdoor recreation voices like yours are the key to protecting public lands.

The outdoor community has a rare and potent ability to cut across political divides. There is a big community of people acting to protect our national lands and waters, but the outdoor recreation community has a unique power to be heard by decision makers. In the past few years, outdoor recreation voices like yours have protected dozens of national monuments from further rollbacks, responded in force to public land sell-off bills, defended public lands in nearly every western state, and saved the Roadless Rule and other conservation laws from serious attacks. We have moved popular, bipartisan legislation that will solve problems at the root of the new public land heist closer to the finish line.

You are the future of protecting the places you get outside. You know, love, and visit public lands, and your voice has never been more important.

Our community has a vision for American public lands. We think American public lands should be the best in the world. This means public lands are protected for their intrinsic value, but also for the benefits they provide for all of us. These are the places that protect our clean water and clean air and provide habitat for wildlife. They’re also the places that provide adventure and fuel our souls. In our vision, the voices of Americans who love these places have just as much value with lawmakers as big industries. To keep our public lands exceptional, we need public access, public ownership, and public management, and land managers have the resources they need to do their jobs.

We need your help to make this vision a reality. Your voice is critically important. As a small, scrappy team, we also rely on the generosity of people who love the outdoors to help build our movement for public lands.

We need your support for our work to:

Get local recreation voices to state houses and Washington DC to advocate for important places and good policy;
Track local and national issues and make sure you have opportunities to use your voice;
Help turn people out on the ground when decision makers are determining the future of public lands; and
Advocate for new laws that will protect outdoor recreation.

make it happen