When people think about public lands, an inordinate amount of attention — not to mention funding — is often focused on national parks. And while national parks are supremely special places, National Forests and Bureau of Land Management land support some of America’s most iconic and accessible outdoor recreation opportunities – places that balance recreation and conservation along with development activities.
A new report titled Public Lands at Risk authored by Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of outdoor recreation groups working together to protect public lands, highlights more than 20 of the special places where people recreate on Forest Service and BLM land that are currently threatened. The report shows what’s at stake amidst the rollback of balanced public-lands management under the current administration, exemplified by efforts to rescind the Roadless Rule as well as the BLM Public Lands Rule, which had given recreation a seat at the table with other kinds of extractive development around land-use decisions.
Some of the places and activities threatened by current rollbacks of protections for Forest Service and BLM land protection include:
- Singletrack mountain biking, trail running and horseback riding in Oregon’s Coast Range
- Cross-country skiing and fishing in central Washington’s Methow Valley
- OHV and mountain bike recreation near Moab, Utah
- Hunting, fishing, hiking and camping in the Sawtooths of central Idaho
- Trout fishing in Hot Creek and the Owens River in California
- Hiking, Horseback riding, OHV recreation in Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountain Range
- Hunting, fishing, hiking and mountain biking in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains
- Backcountry skiing, birding and OHV access in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains
- Hunting and fishing in Alaska’s Chugach National Forest
- And many others
“The Roadless Rule and the BLM Public Lands Rule are middle-ground protections that preserve the kinds of public lands that Americans consistently value most: accessible, recreation-rich landscapes where conservation, stewardship, and outdoor access coexist,” said Adam Cramer, CEO of Outdoor Alliance. “These are not locked-up landscapes, nor are they landscapes removed from use. They are places where hikers share trails with hunters, where mountain bikers and anglers rely on healthy forests and watersheds, and where gateway communities depend on outdoor recreation economies supported by intact public lands. Yet recent efforts to dismantle these policies suggest a growing failure to recognize just how important Forest Service and BLM lands are to outdoor recreation in America.”
The places identified in Public Lands at Risk highlight a selection of popular public lands across the West where balanced public-lands management has helped sustain thriving outdoor recreation opportunities and local economies, Cramer said. That demonstrates why balanced multiple-use management matters.
Outdoor Alliance is focused on helping citizens reach out to legislators to underscore the importance of balanced management of public lands and to oppose current efforts to streamline and emphasize extractive development over other kinds of uses. People can take action that reaches lawmakers on the group’s web site around the Roadless Rule rescission and the rescission of the BLM public-lands rule, among others issues, such as the recent executive order shrinking national monuments in Utah.
To learn more, please visit www.outdooralliance.org.
About Outdoor Alliance
Outdoor Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of organizations that includes American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, The Mountaineers, American Alpine Club, the Mazamas, Colorado Mountain Club, and Surfrider Foundation. For more than ten years, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. Our work has helped to permanently protect 40 million acres of public land, secure $5.1 billion in funding for the outdoors, and convert more than 100,000 outdoor enthusiasts into outdoor advocates. For more information, visit www.outdooralliance.org
