Some places are worth protecting forever

Today is Public Lands Day, a day to celebrate what public lands mean to Americans. At Outdoor Alliance, we believe that conserving public lands often starts with a love of place.

the night sky, captured poorly on a phone camera

This summer, I brought my six and eight year old on a backpacking trip in the Wallowas in eastern Oregon. We camped at a pristine alpine lake where we didn’t see another soul (unless you count all the mosquitoes). In the middle of the night, my six year old woke up, climbed out of the tent, and told me to come see the stars–and it was the most spectacular moment of my entire summer. The moonless sky, miles from any population center, was the best night sky I’ve ever seen, with the milky way swirling white and green across the entire sky. It’s a moment neither of us will ever forget.

The Wallowas are among millions of acres of public lands that are facing new threats from the rollback of the Roadless Rule and a series of executive orders that prioritize extraction, development, and mining on our public lands and waters.

Last week, Outdoor Alliance brought nearly 60 outdoor recreation advocates to D.C. to defend the Roadless Rule and other policies that help protect balanced management of public lands and waters, like the Travel Management Rule. We also emphasized–and we have to do it again and again–that public lands are an American value and we want to see them stay public and not just in name only. Americans should have access to public lands; there should be balanced use of different types of recreation; and as taxpayers, we should all have a say about the future of our public lands and waters.

This work doesn’t happen without you. When you call and write your lawmakers, you have turned the tide to protect the outdoors more than once. Your stories, comments, letters, and phone calls are the most powerful tool we have to protect public lands and waters.

Today, on Public Lands Day, I hope you’ll consider making a donation to Outdoor Alliance to help us keep up this important work. Your support helps us bring outdoor advocates to D.C., mobilize people across the country, and make sure that decision makers hear voices of people who love public lands.

Make a Gift to Protect Public Lands

When I think about that night in the Wallowas, I think about how lucky I am to share these places with my kids, and how much I want them to be able to share the same experiences with their own kids someday. That’s what this work is all about: making sure that our public lands remain healthy, accessible, and protected for generations to come.

Thank you for being part of this work, and for everything you do to protect the places we love.