Zion National Park, Utah

Credit: Jason K. Bach

From National Parks and National Monuments to wilderness areas, our open spaces provide a great opportunity to celebrate America’s Independence Day. The Wilderness Society encourages everyone to get outdoors, recreate, and enjoy the lands that belong to all Americans this Fourth of July. Our public lands allow us the freedom to explore the outdoors. They are home to the resources that make our country prosperous, and are a source of pride and inspiration that comes from protecting the untamed frontiers of our country.” Read more

Ben enjoying the views at Red Rock Canyon. Photo by Kevin Mack.

As someone who grew up on the East Coast, words that characterize the West sound like poetry to me. Creosote. Gypsum. The Loggerhead Shrike. Bajada. The Virgin River. Even the word “arid,” which very generally describes the climate of Southern Nevada, had not been tossed around much where I grew up. These words are far more than poetic though, they represent a vast landscape that is part of ongoing discussions about the future management of the public lands in the west. Read more

Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado. Courtesy BLM.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument — a treasure trove of Puebloan artifacts in Colorado, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument — the last place mapped in the Lower 48 States, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area — where the history of ranching and protection of grassland bird species come together in Arizona. These are a small sample of the vast landscapes in the National Landscape Conservation System (Conservation Lands). Read more