Recreation Funding

One of the ways The Wilderness Society promotes recreation on public lands is to work for more funding for recreation programs run by the federal government.

The amount of federal money available for recreation has a big impact on the quality of the recreation experiences for Americans.

This money pays for:

  • Trail maintenance
  • Recreation facilities
  • Other recreation-related costs on lands run by agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management

The Wilderness Society works for adequate funding for recreation programs because recreation programs:

  • Connect people to the outdoors
  • Provide a higher quality of life
  • Stimulate the active outdoor recreation economy.

Funding for federal land management agencies has been relatively flat through 2012 and big funding cuts are expected in the future.

Forest Recreation Funding

More than 50,000 people recreate on national forest trails every year. Funding these trails is critical for upkeep and to keep our outdoor recreation economy booming. 

Funding for Recreation on BLM Lands

Americans love the western lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and they would recreate more on BLM lands if only there were more trails. We're working to expand the system so more people can enjoy the wonders of our unique western wildlands. 

Read more about our work on the recreation budgets of the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Why Wilderness

Wilderness is a precious resource with many human, natural and economic benefits that we need to protect.

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Notes from the Field

Learn more about issues affecting the places we work to protect with our Notes from the Field. 

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mywilderness

Hear artists, activists and adventurers share what the ownership and legacy of these American wildlands means to them.

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  • Western Clean Energy Advocates letter to Gov Hickenlooper in support of renewable standard increase

    Members of the Western Clean Energy Advocates (WCEA), signed a letter encouraging Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to  to sign SB 252, to increase the renewable energy portfolio standard for rural electric providers

    . WCEA is a diverse and growing coalition working to transform the way we produce, use, and distribute energy across the West. WCEA aims to create jobs, protect the West’s water, wildlife, and ecosystems, address climate change, and enhance energy security.

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  • Blueprint for a responsible renewable energy program on public lands

    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.

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  • By The Numbers: Acres for Energy and Conservation

    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.

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  • Testimony reveals Kulluk needed more tow vessels

    Tim Woody
    Wednesday, May 22, 2013

    Witness testimony today by Noble’s Offshore Installation Manager Todd Case as he was questioned by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Kulluk drill rig -- which Shell attempted to tow across the Gulf of Alaska with a single tow vessel before it broke loose and ran aground last New Year’s Eve -- should have had multiple tow vessels for safe transport.

    Case was aboard the Kulluk when it went adrift and ran aground on a small island south of Kodiak.

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  • Hastings-Young bill would scrap a balanced plan for NPR-A

    Tim Woody
    Tuesday, May 21, 2013

    U.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.

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  • Blueprint identifies ways Interior Department can continue building a smart renewable energy plan to meet Obama’s goals

    jdickson
    Monday, May 20, 2013

    Identifying 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.

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