Next Tuesday — Earth Day 2025 —  is a call to action. While we always celebrate the wonders of our outdoor spaces on this day, this year we must do more than marvel. We must rally to protect our environment and treasured outdoor spaces, from national monuments to community gardens. Our public lands are facing challenges unlike any we’ve seen since Earth Day's founding 55 years ago.

Right now, your first gift will go 3X times as far to protect public lands — up to $250,000 — thanks to our Earth Day match.

Federal leadership are not hiding their desire or efforts to target federally protected, public lands (and the federal workers who run them). The bold and unpopular attempts to undermine protections for national monuments are unacceptable.

Earlier this year, we joined over 350 partners in signing a letter to Congress, pushing them to overturn the mass firing of federal employees and prevent future terminations. These people — park rangers, wildlife managers, educators, and community and tribal leaders — dedicate their lives to conserving and stewarding these lands. Their work is vital.

Additionally, Trust for Public Land is closely watching shifts at the federal level and is ready to step in with our voice and influence to safeguard our public lands. We anticipate a review of all recently designated national monuments, and are particularly worried about places like Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado.

Photo: Tom Stillo 

Located in northcentral Colorado, the 53,804-acre Camp Hale - Continental Divide National Monument sits along the Continental Divide in the White River National Forest. The area has a rich history, serving as home to Indigenous peoples for centuries, most recently the Ute people, who were unjustly displaced from much of their ancestral lands following the discovery of precious minerals. 

In 2022, President Biden designated the area as a national monument to safeguard the sacred lands of the Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples and explicitly prohibited new mining claims and mineral leasing within the area. If the national monument status of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide is revoked, it will be vulnerable for the highest bidder to once again mine for precious gems and minerals.

TPL is also active on a local level, recognizing that we cannot only depend on federal legislation. Last month, we partnered with community members, local organizations, government officials, and state legislators to successfully pass Senate Joint Resolution 25-009, “Protection of Colorado’s Public Lands.” This resolution reaffirms the state’s dedication to maintaining federal stewardship of public lands and opposes federal efforts to sell off public lands.

Your first gift today enables us to step in with our voice and influence, show that we understand the importance of national monuments, and demonstrate that we are organized and prepared to defend them.

With unpredictability at the federal level, we don't know exactly what they'll throw at us next, but we know we must all step up to be good stewards of our cherished parks and public lands.

Thank you.

— Trust for Public Land

P.S. We do our best not to ask for donations from members who just made a gift, but sometimes our records don't update fast enough to keep recent donors from receiving an appeal like this. So, if you did just give, thank you for your support, and our apologies for the extra email!