Our iconic public lands have attracted and inspired generations of visitors from across the U.S. and the world. The United States was the first nation to establish national parks, creating a template for saving wild places—whether forests, grasslands, rivers, seashores or wetlands. And literally from south Florida to the northern coast of Alaska, the Izaak Walton League has played a key role in shaping the laws and policies that have preserved these diverse landscapes for future generations.
Public lands, in all their variety, provide innumerable benefits: conservation of natural resources, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, outdoor recreation and resiliency in the face of climate change.
But these lands also face threats, from underfunding to proposals to privatize these national treasures.