American Nature Strategy - Pillar

Public Lands and Wildlife

A 10-year Strategy for Durable Conservation

The Goal

By 2035, new public lands and wildlife policies and laws are in place that elevate local priorities, accelerate restoration and stewardship at scale, reward communities for conservation successes, and secure long-term funding for land and wildlife conservation, leaving America’s public lands and wildlife better managed, healthier, and broadly supported across the political spectrum.

The Opportunity

In 2025, a broad, bipartisan coalition of industry, conservation groups, sportsmen, and many others successfully held the line against efforts to sell off federal public lands. The outcome was a win, but the crisis exposed serious, long-standing vulnerabilities. Having to defend the fundamental existence of public lands was a wake-up call for anyone who hunts, fishes, hikes, or makes their living from these lands and waters. It also created an opportunity to unify a broad coalition that can resolve entrenched management challenges for our nation’s public lands and wildlife.

To capitalize on this moment, USNI and our partners are investing in and aligning new coalitions behind a forward-looking agenda that adapts public land management to meet today’s challenges and threats. At the core of this strategy is a commitment to effective, locally tailored priorities that balance the goals of ranching, energy, conservation, local governments, and gateway communities. Drawing on feedback from approximately 50 leaders in the field, the strategy is organized around four strategic priorities, built for durability across the political spectrum.

How USNI Works

Place-Based

Start with real local problems and shared landscape priorities.

Bipartisan

Build coalitions and trusted messengers capable of working across ideological lines.

Campaign-Oriented

Pair collaborative capacity with advocacy capable of producing policy wins.

Built to Scale

Use regional successes to generate transferable lessons, national policy reforms, and broader investment.

The Theory of the Case: States First

Durable conservation is rooted in place-based efforts.

 Local and regional coalitions set shared priorities and science-based landscape strategies.

States and Tribes convene, support, and scale those efforts.

Federal agencies provide science, legal tools, and better processes to be more effective implementation partners.

Advocacy turns shared priorities into policy and funding.

Visible benefits build trust and political durability.

Outcomes improve for public lands, wildlife, water and communities.

Strategic Priorities for Durable Public Lands Conservation

1

Make Public Lands Good Neighbors and Keep them Public

Cultivate bipartisan support for keeping public lands public by resisting broad sell-offs and modernizing management tools so they benefit nearby communities, local economies, and wildlife.

2035 Outcome

No new sweeping sell-off proposals have surfaced, new county payment streams are in place and land managers have stronger tools to support local economic development while improving ecological integrity.

POLICY PATHWAYS

PILT and Secure Rural Schools reform; strategic exchange and disposal of non-functional parcels in return for net-positive conservation benefits; scaling wildlife-conflict reduction models.

2026–27 EARLY PRIORITY CAMPAIGN

Completed: Defeated legislation to sell off millions of acres of federal public lands.

Scoping: Reform PILT and Secure Rural Schools so county payments are reliable and reward counties that invest in conservation and recreation. 

2

Accelerate Restoration and Active Management to Protect Communities and Improve Habitat

Modernize policy, practice, and partnerships so restoration that improves habitat health happens faster, at greater scale, and at lower cost. 

2035 Outcome

Federal land agencies have measurably increased the scale of restoration while improving habitat quality and reducing the risk of megafires and natural disasters on public lands.

POLICY PATHWAYS

Passage and implementation of the Fix Our Forests Act; permanent Fire Fix reauthorization before its 2027 expiration; permitting incentives for collaborative restoration plans and projects; expanded Good Neighbor Authority and Tribal co-stewardship; a national native seed and seedling strategy. 

2026–27 EARLY PRIORITY CAMPAIGN

Scoping: Advance administrative policy models for partnership and forest restoration that speed implementation, improve conservation outcomes, and can shape Fix Our Forests Act implementation if it passes. 

Scoping: Pass additional state funding for forest health and wildfire risk reduction on federal land, modeled on Colorado’s Proposition 137 and delivered in partnership with federal land managers.

3

Modernize Water Policy And Management

Advance performance-based water quality approaches, address flow-impaired waterways, and strengthen state, Tribal, and local groundwater management.

2035 Outcome

Waterways are healthier, and states and Tribes have stronger tools, resources, and capacity to lead water management and innovation

2026-2027 Priority Campaigns

  • Montana: Support the leadership role of hunters and anglers in state in-stream flow policy for fish, wildlife, and recreation.

  • North Carolina: Pilot an integrated water management approach to water quality permitting with development, agricultural, municipal, and conservation allies.

Today’s public lands conservation challenges require a conservation community, inside and outside government, that is organized to consistently achieve durable and impactful conservation results. In addition to the strategic approach laid out above, this means pursuing state and federal policies in four mutually reinforcing strategic priority areas.

Looking Ahead