Standing Up for Public Lands: How American Hiking Society is Taking Action in 2025
2025 has been a wild and unpredictable year so far when it comes to our public lands! National Parks, Forests, Refuges, and BLM sites are facing impacts like never before from staffing cuts to funding freezes, and even the proposed elimination of visitor centers and other facilities.
American Hiking has been at the forefront of activating and engaging the hiking and trails communities to educate and inform Congress, the White House, and the public on the impacts of these decisions for all visitors of these treasured places.
In the last few weeks alone we have brought over 75 trail leaders to Washington DC as part of our annual Hike the Hill event which was more important than ever this year to share the first hand impacts being felt in communities across the country.
We have also joined our partners to call for an end to the firing of federal land managers. These public servants are the lifeblood of the volunteer and visitor experience and their positions are critical to have these spaces up to a standard the public has come to expect. (Read the letter here.)
We’ve joined the Public Land Alliance and others to ask the Secretary of the Interior to reconsider the termination of leases for public land sites that would close down visitor centers, non-profit partner space, and retail establishments all the benefit and bring an economic impact to these areas they serve. (Read the letter here.)
Finally, with a potential government shutdown on the horizon we joined environmental groups to call for robust funding for public lands and the environment in the Fiscal Year 2025 funding package and for the reinstatement of public servants to their federal land management positions. (Read the letter here.)
Despite everything American Hiking is doing, YOUR voice is the most important one that needs to be heard by Congress right now! As a constituent it’s up to you to tell your elected representatives what you expect them to do to protect public lands! Be the voice of the hiking community, right now!
