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Home > Programs and Policy > Habitat Conservation > Federal Lands > National Forests and BLM Lands

Recreation on Public Lands

Rafting in CaliforniaPublic lands are yours to use, and the opportunities for outdoor adventure on those lands are limitless.

The national forests alone support over 200 million visits each year – that’s countless hiking trips, fishing expeditions, exhilarating rafting adventures, high alpine mountaineering quests, family car camping getaways, or just simple moments of undisturbed solitude and a priceless opportunity to “get away from it all."

Congratulations to the Story Contest Winners!

The grand prize winner of our story contest is Ian Havlick from Colorado, with a story about fishing in the Salmon-Challis National Forest. The winning stories illustrate exactly why it is so important that our public land management agencies make wildlife a priority!

Read the winning stories on the Your Lands, Your Wildlife website.

Unparalleled Adventures 

Wildlife plays a vital role in all of our public lands recreation adventures. For the sportsman hunting and fishing at his or her traditional spot,

Indirectly, wildlife act as a barometer of the health of our public lands - if you lose the wildlife, you lose the quality of the recreation experience. Backcountry hikers need rugged wildlands, just like the wolverine, lynx and grizzly bear. Whitewater enthusiasts need clean, undisturbed waterways, just like the steelhead salmon and cutthroat trout.

Defenders supports policies that require science-based wildlife management on our federal public lands, and which thereby ensure that our great outdoors are protected.