A Day to Honor Our Most Cherished Landscapes

National Public Lands Day provides a time to reflect on the deep connection between Americans and our public lands. This year, thousands of voices across the country spoke up in support of our public lands, from hunters and anglers to outdoor enthusiasts to our own Audubon members and supporters. We spoke up for wild and awe-inspiring places, but also for our local trails and favorite birding spots. These reminders of the high value the American people place on public lands  continue to resonate with decision-makers, who know and must continue to remember the importance of protecting our shared legacy for current and future generations.

Public lands are one of the strongest examples of bipartisan American values. Eighteen presidents — nine Democrats and nine Republicans — have established or expanded more than 160 national monuments. Many of the country’s most treasured public places, like the Grand Canyon, were first protected as national monuments. Protecting these places reflects the work of broad coalitions: Tribal nations, business leaders, faith leaders, elected officials, hunters, anglers, hikers, cyclists, and conservationists. Together, these unlikely allies have stood up to safeguard national monuments and ensure that public lands remain public.

Public support has remained remarkably consistent across regions and party lines. In the West, 85 percent of voters favor creating new national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, or Tribal protected areas. That consensus reflects a shared truth: public lands belong to all of us and are worth protecting.

From our iconic national parks ranging from Acadia to Zion, to our national wildlife refuges that provide important stopovers for migratory birds—these national lands are symbols of  the United States  not just for Americans, but for millions around the world. Public lands also include national forests, grasslands and rangelands where hikers and cyclists find renewal, sacred sites that preserve thousands of years of Indigenous history, and the quiet streams where anglers cast lines. And public lands support more than 1,000 bird species, one-third of which are endangered, threatened, or of conservation concern. Not all of these lands are strictly protected, but together they encompass public treasures that shape our nation’s identity and sustain wildlife and communities.

Public lands also fuel rural economies. A 2020 study of communities near 14 monuments designated between 1991 and 2014 found that new businesses and jobs increased after monument protections were put in place. Outdoor recreation contributed $639.5 billion to U.S. GDP in 2023 — 2.3 percent of the entire U.S. economy. 96 million Americans count themselves as birdwatchers, helping to fuel this outdoor economy. Guides, outfitters, lodging owners, and small businesses in rural towns know this firsthand. Protecting landscapes doesn’t close doors — it opens them.

Yet public lands continue to face mounting challenges. As one example, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a 2001 safeguard that keeps nearly 58 million acres of national forests free from road-building and industrial logging, is under consideration for repeal. These roadless areas include some of the most ecologically rich forests in the nation, such as Alaska’s Tongass and California’s Sequoia National Forest. For birds that depend on unfragmented forest habitat, including the Marbled murrelet, Cerulean warbler, and Sooty grouse, the consequences could be dire[CD1] .

Protecting America’s public lands is not just about birds — it’s about clean water, outdoor traditions, landscape health, and ensuring that future generations inherit a landscape as inspiring as the ones that we have experienced in our lifetimes. President Theodore Roosevelt said, “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”

On September 27, National Public Lands Day, Americans have a chance not only to speak up for these lands but also to experience them firsthand. Admission to all national parks is free that day; an invitation to volunteer, hike a trail, cast a line, watch a bird, or simply stand in quiet awe beneath ancient trees — and to remember why these places are worth fighting for.