Tread Lightly!
“Promote responsible outdoor recreation through ethics education and stewardship.”
36 years on the ground, 84 cents of every dollar to the work.
The work
What they do
Responsible motorized and non-motorized recreation education. Partners with BLM, USFS, and other agencies on responsible recreation programs.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
During the fiscal year, Tread Lightly
$2.1M, 84% of spendingadvanced its mission to promote responsible outdoor recreation through stewardship, education, and strategic partnerships.
Including $87,467 granted onward, all of it 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
A good sign, not a scorecard: what matters is the extremes, and this is nowhere near one.
$2,112,434 programs, $321,087 management, $94,421 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Took the helm from Matt Caldwell, who drew $51,591 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. 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.
Find your way inThe filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap 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 (none on record for 2024). 2023, at $3.0M, stands well above the other years on file.
Their ground
Tread Lightly! is not on our editors’ record for a threatened place yet. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗FollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Tread Lightly!
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.