Tread Lightly!
“Promote responsible outdoor recreation through ethics education and stewardship.”
The work
What they do
Responsible motorized and non-motorized recreation education. Partners with BLM, USFS, and other agencies on responsible recreation programs.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “Tread Lightly! engages partnersincluding the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, other public land agencies, industry, and recreation communitiesto protect and sustain motorized access to America's public lands through responsible recreation education, stewardship and partnership activation.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Guarding the water
$2.1MDuring the fiscal year, Tread Lightly! advanced its mission to promote responsible outdoor recreation through stewardship, education, and strategic partnerships.
Including $87,467 granted onward, most of it $87,467 to Trail Partners Of Arizona.
Read it as they filed it
During the fiscal year, Tread Lightly! advanced its mission to promote responsible outdoor recreation through stewardship, education, and strategic partnerships. The organization worked with public land agencies, nonprofit organizations, recreation groups, industry partners, local communities, and volunteers to protect public lands, improve recreation infrastructure, restore trails and natural resources, reduce environmental impacts, and support sustainable access to outdoor recreation. Program activities included trail maintenance and restoration, cleanup projects, habitat and watershed improvements, signage and visitor education, volunteer engagement, and responsible recreation outreach. These efforts helped strengthen conservation outcomes, improve the public-land recreation experience, and build long-term capacity for stewardship across diverse recreation communities.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
84 cents of every dollar goes to the work
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and Tread Lightly! is nowhere near one.
$2,112,434 programs, $321,087 management, $94,421 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at Tread Lightly!? Claim this page.
Those 1,931 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Tread Lightly! is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 1,932The filings
14 years of filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $654,628 |
| 2012 | $1,688,019 |
| 2013 | $1,501,425 |
| 2014 | $1,347,030 |
| 2015 | $1,289,955 |
| 2016 | $1,308,120 |
| 2017 | $1,217,396 |
| 2018 | $2,044,890 |
| 2019 | $1,501,844 |
| 2020 | $1,369,560 |
| 2021 | $1,757,355 |
| 2022 | $2,287,290 |
| 2023 | $2,991,003 |
| 2025 | $1,662,600 |
From $655K in 2011 to $1.7M in FY25, across 14 public filings. The 2023 peak of $3.0M reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
Ways in
How to help
84 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Tread Lightly!
36 years on the ground, 1,931 volunteers, 84 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.