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The timelessness of the Grand Canyon, the remote solitude of Alaska's wild frontier, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, the redwoods, the Everglades — America's public lands are national treasures owned by all of us and held in trust for us and for future generations. They include more than 600 million acres of towering forests, rushing rivers, swaying grasslands and magical deserts.
These national parks, forests and other wildlands are essential havens for wildlife, sources for clean water and a refuge for millions of people looking for solace, beauty, rejuvenation and adventure. More than 307 million people visited national parks last year — a new record — and even more hiked, camped, fished, watched wildlife, and enjoyed other public lands like national forests and wildlife refuges.
In many cases these lands are vital to the survival of so many rare and imperiled species — desert tortoises, grizzly bears, lynx, jaguars, greater sage grouse, bighorn sheep, wild salmon, migratory birds and many more.
But sadly these special places are under attack, and we need your help to make sure our public lands remain in public hands.
Please join us during Earth Week to celebrate our uniquely American ownership of these lands by participating in a Protect Public Lands event in your area. Click the map on this page to find an event near you.
PUBLIC LANDS UNDER SIEGE
In recent years there has been a concerted push to privatize and industrialize our public lands by selling them to the highest bidder to be logged, mined, drilled, fracked, bulldozed and developed.
In January armed militants illegally took over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. And while the occupation came to an end, the struggle to keep our public lands in public hands is far from over.
Politicians in Washington, D.C., and state legislatures across the nation have proposed bills designed to hand over our public lands to the states or private developers. Their goal is simple: Strip public lands of protection and turn them over for private exploitation.
Some states, like Utah, are spending millions of taxpayer dollars to sue the federal government to control public land they've never owned. Other states are studying the costs and benefits of taking our public lands to be sold to the highest bidder. And some in Congress are considering handing over control of millions of acres of national forests to logging interests.
Our beautiful and vast public lands are reserved for the benefit of all so that everyone can appreciate these natural treasures. It is our continuing responsibility to protect and manage these lands and their intrinsic value for future generations. Our public lands are for all Americans today, tomorrow and forever.
Don't take these special places for granted. The threat is real.
Stand up and protect your public lands. Please sign our petition now and share it with your family, friends and anyone you know who values America's public lands.
