SHIFTING AWAY
FROM EXTRACTION
ON PUBLIC LANDS.
The New Direction for Public Lands is an emerging movement with a shared vision to protect, rewild, and reimagine our nation’s public lands by offering legislative solutions at the federal level. Our collection of impactful policies point the way towards the future we envision for public lands and wildlife.
Let’s Rethink
the System.
It’s Time for
Change.
Let’s Start to
Reimagine
the Future of
Public Lands.
Let’s Overhaul
Federal Laws
and Revive
the Wild.
Let’s Manage
Public Lands
for Ecological
Integrity.
Commercial
Extraction Is
Failing Our
Public Lands.
Commercial
Extraction Is
Failing Our
Public Lands.
Commercial
Extraction Is
Failing Our
Public Lands.
Commercial
Extraction Is
Failing Our
Public Lands.
Our Principles
Public lands are among the most important and enduring commitments the American people have made to themselves and future generations. These are landscapes held in common, managed in the public interest, and protected from the relentless pressure to convert everything into private profit. These principles define what a renewed and reimagined commitment might mean in practice, and what it would demand of the people and institutions entrusted to uphold it.
Principles
Ecological
Integrity
The wholeness of ecosystems is the primary measure of good stewardship, not corporate profit.
Principles
Phasing Out
Extraction
Extraction is a misuse of public lands. There are plenty of opportunities for commercial extraction on private lands (with appropriate safeguards). Public lands should be stewarded for ecosystems and native wildlife.
Principles
Indigenous
Rights
Public lands are ancestral homelands. Treaty rights are the law of the land and must be honored. Tribal consultation must be genuine and consequential — not a procedural checkbox.
Our Principles
Protected Areas
Wilderness designations, national parks, rewilding areas and other protective classifications represent the highest expression of the public land ideal. These boundaries are not negotiating positions — they are commitments, and attempts to shrink, compromise or weaken them betray the public trust.
Principles
Participatory
Democracy
The public as a whole has a right to exercise oversight and participate in decisions about lands owned by and for the people — full stop. We have a right to full information and genuine opportunity to shape outcomes.
Principles
Public
Trust
Public lands are a public trust — a shared inheritance and an intergenerational legacy. Public lands must be stewarded for the future, not merely short-term economic interests.
Principles
Anti
Capture
When powerful corporate interests are given disproportionate control over public lands, this leads to exploitation, not stewardship.
EXPLORE OUR
POLICY PLATFORM
Legislation
The New Direction for Public Lands has compiled a suite of federal legislation that would reform public lands, agency reform and wildlife management.
Forming Tribal
Partnerships
We are dedicated to uplifting indigenous voices advocating for intact ecosystems and healthy native wildlife populations. We advocate for robust consultation between tribal governments and the U.S. Government when decisions affect ancestral homelands. We support access to and cultivation of first foods and medicines on public lands.
Public lands are sacred lands. Historic and cultural sites must be protected at all costs.
Public Lands and
the Climate Crisis
Public lands should play an important role in addressing the climate crisis. Depending on how they are managed, they can be a source of emissions — or, when commercial extraction is limited, a place where carbon is stored and sequestered. Our policies would maximize climate stabilization and position public lands to meaningfully help meet the moment.
OUR PARTNERS
The New Direction for
Public Lands Partners
