Here are the actions being taken on your behalf by Trust for Public Land’s Federal Affairs team in Washington, DC: |
Our parks and public lands are the heart and soul of many American communities. Our forests, mountains, deserts, and plains support millions of jobs and help keep our air and water clean and healthy. They’re where we go to spend time in nature—days, hours, or just a few minutes—to enrich our lives. They make us feel rejuvenated, healthier, and happier.
But despite the growing importance of parks and public lands to people from all walks of life, our public lands face multiple threats. With a new Congress in session, special interests and the powerful politicians who support them are constantly working to convert public lands and natural resources into sources of private profit. If these efforts succeed, the damage will be irreversible.
To protect our public lands, we need to speak up and demand that Congress and the Biden administration place public lands at the top of their agenda so our nation’s special outdoor spaces are protected.
We urge Congress and the Biden administration to act on the following items immediately: |
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Protect Treasured Landscapes as National Monuments
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It’s been five years since the tragic gutting of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. However, thanks to TPL supporters and advocates like you who spoke out against the land rollbacks, we were able to reverse the cuts and help secure critical protections for these iconic national monuments once again.
This same tireless advocacy is needed to protect parks, monuments, and green spaces across the country—because our iconic landscapes are threatened by long-term development, habitat loss, and the desecration of cultural sites and historic artifacts.
Presidents from both sides of the aisle have used the Antiquities Act to protect hundreds of millions of acres of America’s most significant cultural and recreational landscapes. Many of the public lands that we know and love—such as Grand Canyon and Arches National Parks—were first protected as national monuments through the Antiquities Act. Without the foresight of past presidents, these places would not be the beautiful landscapes they are today.
Now is the time to act. President Biden pledged to protect 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030, and he can help meet this promise by conserving precious lands as national monuments.
Make your voice heard now for our iconic landscapes. Together, we can conserve at-risk places for generations to come.
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Photo credit: Andy Richter |
At TPL, our mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.
Yet, there is a gap in who has access to parks close to home. In America’s biggest cities, people in communities of color have access to 44 percent less park space per person than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods.
Communities with less park space are hotter in summer, have poorer air quality, and are more susceptible to catastrophic flooding. Lack of access to parks is also associated with higher rates of disease, stroke, and obesity.
That’s why our Federal Affairs team has been working around the clock to convince Congress to pass bills that will provide greater access to parks and nature.
Your help is needed to get Congress to act. Please take a moment to urge your legislators to support funding for local parks, so we can create and improve parks in neighborhoods that will benefit most.
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Photo credit: William Poole |
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Habitat loss, increasingly severe weather, and the changing climate have taken huge tolls on our nation’s wildlife. One-third of the wildlife species in America are at risk of becoming threatened or endangered. We must take measures to restore these species now before it’s too late.
Congress was considering a bill last year, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (S.2372/H.R.2773), which would have been the most significant investment in wildlife conservation in a generation. The bill would not only provide dedicated funding for more than 12,000 species at risk of becoming threatened or endangered, but it would also create jobs, grow the outdoor economy, and increase access to nature.
Urge Congress to continue this effort so we can protect our nation’s wildlife now and for years to come.
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Photo credit: Stephen Trimble |
We envision a future where every community has equitable access to nature. Across the country, local trails connect people to green spaces, recreation, schools, workplaces, and their broader neighborhood.
That’s why, with your advocacy, we are working tirelessly to plan, design, and create trails across the country. With careful execution and local collaboration, we are working to complete 1,000 miles of trails and greenways by 2025.
While much of this vital work is happening in communities across the country, some of it is also taking place in Washington, DC, where our Federal Affairs team is working to pass bills that will expand our country’s trails and access to nature.
You can help connect people to nature and each other: transform the future of our trails by sending a letter to your members of Congress today!
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Spending time in nature reduces stress, depression, and anxiety. Yet, many children across the country don’t have access to nature—either close to home or at school.
That’s why, at TPL, we’re working to transform asphalt schoolyards into vibrant parks with trees, gardens, outdoor classrooms, and innovative play opportunities to provide educational and health benefits to kids and communities. Together with our partners and supporters, we’ve created or transformed nearly 300 schoolyards across the United States.
But with the help of Congress, we can do much more to transform schoolyards into dynamic outdoor learning environments that will bring students significant health and educational benefits.
Help us unlock access to nature for students across the country—urge your members of Congress to fund Community Schoolyards today!
Together, we can improve the mental and physical health of 50 million kids nationwide, one schoolyard at a time.
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Thank you for taking action, Friend of Trust for Public Land. With our voices elevated together this year, we will show Congress and the Biden administration that public lands should be protected now and for years to come.
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Myke Bybee
Legislative Director, Federal Affairs
Trust for Public Land
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In 2023, we reflect on and celebrate our first 50 years of impact, and we look ahead at the work still to be done. From protecting vast stretches of wide-open spaces to revamping schoolyards, trails and parks, we strive for equity, inclusion, and access for everyone. |
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