Outdoor Recreation FAQs
Outdoor Recreation
A hike to a gorgeous vista, a paddle down a lazy river, a family picnic at a lake - all of these things can refresh the spirit like nothing else can.
Outdoor recreation is one of the best ways to connect with nature and ourselves. Yet America isn’t getting outside the way it used to. Our outdoor recreation programs aim to help change this and create lasting bonds between people and wilderness.
Outdoor recreation is important for:
- Mental health
- Physical health
- Connecting people to wilderness
- Cultivating stewardship
Simply put, our wildlands serve as a healer and a playground for millions of people.
Youth recreation
Children across the nation are getting outdoors less than ever before. Yet, children can be America’s best wilderness advocates. When kids play in our national forests, national parks and wildlife refuges, they develop a deep love for nature, turning them into the next generation of wildland stewards.
Recreation trails
Over 50 million people recreate on America’s trail systems every year. Trails are the way that the majority of people are able to experience nature. Our work ensures trails are well maintained and that people have great trail experiences.
Recreation funding
Visiting our wildlands is inexpensive, but making those lands available costs money. Congress provides funding to land management agencies for maintenance and restoration of our forests and other public lands. But agency budgets are shrinking. The Wilderness Society advocates on behalf of our lands and the people who help keep them open and healthy for the public.
Outdoor recreation FAQs
Check out our outdoor recreation FAQs and learn something new!
Support our recreation work
We couldn’t do our outdoor recreation work without the help of members and donors like you. Please join us in our efforts to keep wild places available for generations to come.
Notes from the Hill
Stay current on legislation moving in Congress, issues affecting wilderness and wilderness designation campaigns with our Notes from the Hill.
Take Action
Add your voice to important wilderness causes and take action to stop threats to our wildlands by joining our community of wilderness activists.
Policy and Science Library
Find fact sheets, reports and other resources related to wilderness policy and conservation.
Thursday, May 16, 2013Visit us in the Eco-Village at this summer’s Dave Matthews Band concerts.
Thursday, May 16, 2013It is a haven for geology lovers as water and erosion has exposed millions of years of deposited sedimentary rock. Recreationists of all kinds are awed by its natural sculptures: rock formations, canyons, mesas and gorges.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013A new rule will protect proposed renewable energy sites from conflicting mining development on public lands in the Western states, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said at the end of April.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013Yet, here we are, with people and the government unable to stop furloughs, job losses, and lower revenue to keep the government functioning. Our public lands have certainly not been spared from this indiscriminate budget ax.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013But Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski refused to accept that decision. She and residents of the tiny community of King Cove are fighting to have the decision overturned.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013Birdwatchers travel from far and wide to northwest Colorado to see male sage-grouse strut their stuff in hopes of attracting a mate. Early spring is prime season to catch these timid grouse dancing on the lek and shaking their tail feathers through organized tours.
Expanding energy development to meet the growing needs of America must be balanced with protecting vital wild places.
The Wilderness Society has launched a new quarterly report "By The Numbers" to track how many acres of American land have been protected by Congress and the Executive branch, and how many acres have been leased out to energy development.
April 24, 2013
Dear Senator:
In 2012, the Bureau of Land Management released Manual 6330, which replaced the agency's longstanding policy for management of Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), known as the Interim Management Policy for Lands Under Wilderness Review (IMP). Manual 6330 does not provide for designation of new WSAs, but it does require more protective management for existing WSAs than the IMP.
Friday, May 17, 2013A draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and Dominguez Canyon Wilderness near Grand Junction, CO would improve land management efforts and provide a sustainable path for the area over the next 20 years.
Thursday, May 16, 2013The Wilderness Society today applauded the U.S. Senate for passing the Rio Grande del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The Rio Grande del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act (S. 241) – sponsored by Tom Udall (D-NM) and co-sponsored by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) – would protect as wilderness roughly 13,500 acres of the Cerro del Yuta and 8,000 acres of the Rio San Antonio areas.
Thursday, May 16, 2013The Wilderness Society today applauded the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for passing the Pine Forest Range Recreation Enhancement Act out of committee.