Over 840 million acres of lands and waters – more than one-third of the country – are owned collectively by U.S. citizens and managed by the federal government.
They are held in trust for the American people, and primarily managed by four agencies – the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and US Fish & Wildlife.
Although America’s public lands are part of our nation’s heritage and identity, they often face various threats.
These include transfers or sales that take them out of the public trust, irresponsible forestry practices that destroy habitat and natural resources, reduced legal protections for land, water, and wildlife, increased fire and other impacts of climate change, pro development land use policies and practices, and more.