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.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013The effort is part of a trio of bad drilling bills resurfacing in the House this week, proving that while Congress has its wilderness champions, it also has its share of wilderness foes who just won't quit when it comes to legislation that attacks wildlands
Tuesday, May 21, 2013Despite decades of Americans saying “no” to oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska’s governor has proposed a plan that includes seismic testing and exploratory drilling in the very heart of the refuge – the coastal plain.
Monday, May 20, 2013The Forest Service proposed a ban last year on horizontal drilling, also known as fracking. Their decision will determine how this forest is managed for at least the next decade.
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.
Smart Steps to Establish a Responsible Program for Renewable Energy on Public Lands
Since its first day in office, the Obama Administration has made rapid and responsible expansion of renewable energy a top priority. The public lands have played a major role in achieving early goals, but only because of focused effort to correct decades of inattention and inactivity toward developing renewable energy as a major component of the nation’s energy mix.
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:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013U.S. Representatives Don Young and Doc Hastings have introduced H.R. 1964 in an effort to scrap the Department of the Interior’s recently finalized, comprehensive plan for the western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest tract of public land. The bill is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow on Capitol Hill.
Monday, May 20, 2013Identifying smart steps the Obama Administration, including the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management, can take to continue building a responsible program for renewable energy are part of a “blueprint for action” released by The Wilderness Society today.
Monday, May 20, 2013Gov. Sean Parnell’s plan to ask the Alaska Legislature for $50 million to look for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is incompatible with the reasons the refuge was established, and would cause significant harm to a vital and irreplaceable American landscape.