☃️ Winter Newsletter: Good news worth celebrating—and urgent fights ahead in 2026

Catch up on what you've missed this past few months.

NEWSLETTER FALL/WINTER 2025 DONATE NOW

Conservation wins and good news you may have missed this year At times, 2025 felt defined by relentless attacks on public lands, environmental protections, and community voices. But even in a year of change, people showed up and together, we delivered real conservation wins. From stopping dangerous public lands sell-off proposals to expanding access to the outdoors, communities across the country proved that public lands are worth defending.  This year, public engagement surged, bipartisan support for keeping public lands in public hands grew, and science continued to guide conservation decisions despite political headwinds. We also celebrated 90 years of The Wilderness Society and welcomed new leadership.   These moments remind us that progress is possible when people stand together.  Click here to read our blog and watch our video!

The USDA is moving to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects 45 million acres of America's healthy public forest from logging and development. Roadless forests protect clean drinking water for communities and wildlife, improve air quality, store carbon and are home to thousands of miles of trails and other recreation areas. Read more.

Alaskan lands under attack This fall, the administration opened the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, reissued permits for the proposed Ambler Road, and announced plans to open roughly 16 million acres of the Western Arctic to new leasing.  Read more.

Under the cover of darkness, federal government silences public voices Over the course of 2025, the federal government has gone out of its way to obfuscate its operations and muzzle public input in decision-making about our shared public lands. Shutting people out of decisions about them threatens the freedom Americans have always had to access and enjoy their public lands.  Read more.

5X Match: Power the fight for public lands! Right now, a generous longtime supporter is matching all gifts to The Wilderness Society 5X, up to $1 million. Your tax-deductible year-end gift today can go five times as far to power legal action, advocacy and grassroots mobilization to defend America's cherished public lands and waters.

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Images credits: Mason Cummings; Peter Mather

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