The Wilderness Society
“To protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.”
The origin
How they started
The Wilderness Society was founded in 1935 by Bob Marshall, Aldo Leopold, and others, and it wrote much of the intellectual foundation for the 1964 Wilderness Act. It works to protect wild public lands, with particular focus on the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service acres that make up the bulk of the federal estate. Its work blends policy, mapping, and on-the-ground campaigns to keep wild country wild.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “UNITING PEOPLE TO PROTECT AMERICA'S WILD PLACES.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Keeping wilderness wild
$15.6MAMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS FACE SERIOUS THREATS FROM EFFORTS TO OPEN THEM TO EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES LIKE OIL, GAS AND MINING; ROLLBACKS OF EXISTING PROTECTIONS FOR NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND WILDERNESS AREAS; PROPOSALS TO SELL OR...
Including $866,637 granted onward, most of it $150,000 to The Wilderness Society Action Fund.
Read it as they filed it
CONNECT, PROTECT, STEWARD LANDS: AMERICA'S PUBLIC LANDS FACE SERIOUS THREATS FROM EFFORTS TO OPEN THEM TO EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES LIKE OIL, GAS AND MINING; ROLLBACKS OF EXISTING PROTECTIONS FOR NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND WILDERNESS AREAS; PROPOSALS TO SELL OR TRANSFER FEDERAL LANDS TO STATE OR PRIVATE OWNERSHIP; AND CUTS TO THE AGENCIES THAT MANAGE THESE PLACES. THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY ACTIVELY TRACKS AND RESPONDS TO THESE THREATS THROUGH ADVOCACY, LEGAL INTERVENTION, AND PUBLIC EDUCATION. WE WORK WITH COMMUNITIES, POLICYMAKERS AND RESEARCHERS TO ADVANCE SCIENCE-BASED, NONPARTISAN CONSERVATION POLICIES THAT HELP PROTECT CLEAN WATER, WILDLIFE HABITAT, OUTDOOR ACCESS, AND THE FREEDOM TO ENJOY PUBLIC LANDS NOW AND FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping wilderness wild
$4.5MEQUITABLE ACCESS TO HIKE, CAMP, AND RECREATE ON FEDERAL LANDS IS A KEY PRINCIPLE FOR ENSURING COMMUNITIES BENEFIT FROM AND LOVE THEIR PUBLIC LANDS.
Including $249,544 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
EQUITABLE ACCESS: EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HIKE, CAMP, AND RECREATE ON FEDERAL LANDS IS A KEY PRINCIPLE FOR ENSURING COMMUNITIES BENEFIT FROM AND LOVE THEIR PUBLIC LANDS. WE ARE COMMITTED TO THE IDEAL THAT WILDERNESS AND ALL PUBLIC LANDS CAN BRING PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES TOGETHER AND THAT EVERYONE SHOULD SHARE EQUITABLY IN THEIR BENEFITS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping the wild alive
$4.1MPUBLIC LANDS ARE HOME TO IMPORTANT WILDLIFE HABITAT, MIGRATION CORRIDORS, RECREATION AREAS, AND CULTURAL RESOURCES VALUED BY COMMUNITIES, TRIBES, AND THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR OUTDOOR ECONOMY.
Including $226,802 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
CLIMATE SOLUTIONS: PUBLIC LANDS ARE HOME TO IMPORTANT WILDLIFE HABITAT, MIGRATION CORRIDORS, RECREATION AREAS, AND CULTURAL RESOURCES VALUED BY COMMUNITIES, TRIBES, AND THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR OUTDOOR ECONOMY. AT THE SAME TIME, THE WESTERN U.S. HAS EXCEPTIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIAL, AND SOME OF OUR NATION'S BEST SOLAR, WIND, AND GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES ARE FOUND ON PUBLIC LANDS. IF APPROPRIATELY SITED AND SUBJECT TO ROBUST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS CAN CREATE THOUSANDS OF JOBS, PROMOTE AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, AND REDUCE EMISSIONS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
75 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
Backed on the record by William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Kendeda Fund, Campion Foundation and 2 others, latest filing FY24.
$28,641,871 programs, $1,790,366 management, $7,617,309 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Took the helm from Jamie Williams, who drew $374,838 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. This one caught a changing of the guard in the act: the FY2025 officer table lists Jamie Williams, the return itself is signed by Tracy Stone-Manning. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at TWS? Claim this page.
Those 32 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If TWS is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 33The record
The court record
And 14 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $24,897,745 |
| 2012 | $24,862,909 |
| 2013 | $38,513,090 |
| 2014 | $31,433,422 |
| 2015 | $27,281,585 |
| 2016 | $31,206,439 |
| 2017 | $30,081,869 |
| 2018 | $42,837,683 |
| 2019 | $35,045,245 |
| 2020 | $39,480,932 |
| 2021 | $42,014,694 |
| 2022 | $62,637,504 |
| 2023 | $39,217,935 |
| 2025 | $38,258,071 |
From $24.9M in 2011 to $38.3M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
Fights alongside Sierra Club (9 shared cases), Earthjustice (7 shared cases), Center for Biological Diversity (6 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (6 shared cases) and Alaska Wilderness League (5 shared cases) and 31 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The record
On the Hill
Wilderness Society files its own federal lobbying reports: 50 filings from 2019 to 2024, naming 16 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on natural resources, budget/appropriations and real estate/land use/conservation.
Their ground
The places they defend
Decades of Arctic Refuge defense, in court and in Congress
Who’s defending it On the groundGates of the Arctic (Ambler Road)Has litigated the 211-mile Ambler industrial road since the original 2020 approvals
Who’s defending it On the groundSan Gabriel Mountains National MonumentCoalition member of San Gabriel Mountains Forever, the campaign that won the 2014 designation and the 109,000 acre expansion in 2024.
Who’s defending it On the groundRio Grande del Norte National MonumentWorks to pass wilderness legislation for Cerro de la Olla inside the monument and joined the 2024 formal protest of the BLM resource management plan amendment.
Who’s defending it In the fightBears Ears National MonumentCo-plaintiff in the litigation over the 2017 monument reduction
Who’s defending it In the fightBoundary Waters Canoe Area WildernessPlaintiff in the federal litigation over the Twin Metals mine leases
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The Wilderness Society files 2 related organizations on its return: The Wilderness Society Action Fund (501(c)(4)) and The Wilderness Society Action Fund PAC (527). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Ways in
How to help
75 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 NetworkFollowFollow the monumentsBears Ears and Grand Staircase, tracked as they move. Alerts when it matters.
Monument WatchStand with Wilderness Society
91 years on the ground, 32 volunteers, 3 live lawsuits, 75 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.