STAND for Public Lands: 271 Organizations Defending Public Lands Across 34 States

The definitive directory of organizations protecting America’s national parks, forests, monuments, and wilderness areas. Search by state, category, or agency focus. Find national groups like Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and The Wilderness Society alongside regional organizations working on the ground in every state.

Organization profiles include mission statements, geographic focus, budget ranges, staff sizes, active federal court cases, and the threatened places each group is defending. Connect with the groups doing the work and learn how to support them.

STANDfor Public Landsby More Than Just Parks

Stand · 271 groups defending America’s public lands

Who’s defending your public lands?

Name a park, a river, a species, or your state. STAND shows you the groups on the record for it, from the national legal teams to the friends group down the street, and how to stand with them.

271organizations on the record
25live cases on the record
146places under threat ↓

The fights

Start with a place you love

146 places are under threat right now. Each one has its own page: what’s happening to it, who’s on the record defending it, and how to stand with them.

Ranked by open comment windows first (7 open), then live federal cases (6 places), then threat level.

  1. Comments close Oct 16 · 9 days leftCumberland Island National SeashoreGeorgiaNPS weighs land swap at Cumberland Island National SeashoreNo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  2. Comments close Oct 23White Mountain National ForestNew HampshireForest Service weighs Loon Mountain Resort expansion in White MountainsNo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  3. Comments close Oct 26Gifford Pinchot National ForestWashingtonGifford Pinchot proposes thinning 1,411 acres in Little White Salmon WatershedNo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  4. Comments close Nov 2Gates of the Arctic (Ambler Road)AlaskaArmy Corps opens review of the first mine the Ambler Road would serveNorthern Alaska Environmental Center and Trustees for Alaska, and 15 more on the record
  5. Comments close Nov 6Grand Canyon National ParkArizonaNPS seeks public input on Grand Canyon North Rim recovery planNo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  6. AlaskaComments close Nov 9National Petroleum Reserve in AlaskaAlaskaBLM moves to fast-track oil drilling permits in NPR-ANo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  7. Comments close Dec 1Big Cypress National PreserveFloridaNPS expands off-road vehicle access at Big Cypress National PreserveNo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  8. 2 cases in federal court, newest 2025Oak Flat / Chi'chil BildagoteelArizonaForest Service signs the Resolution Copper decisionCenter for Biological Diversity and Access Fund, and 2 more on the record

Next on the list

  1. 1 case in federal court, filed 2017Bears Ears National MonumentUtah
  2. 1 case in federal court, filed 2017Grand Staircase-EscalanteUtah
  3. 1 case in federal court, filed 2024Tongass National ForestAlaska
  4. 1 case in federal court, filed 2026Western Oregon O&C LandsOregon
  5. 1 case in federal court, filed 2026American PrairieMontana
  6. Critical threatIzembek National Wildlife RefugeAlaska
  7. Critical threatArctic National Wildlife RefugeAlaska
  8. Critical threatCabinet Mountains WildernessMontana
  9. Critical threatNPR-A Teshekpuk Lake Special AreaAlaska
  10. Critical threatStibnite Mine / Boise National ForestIdaho
  11. Critical threatMcDermitt CalderaOregon
  12. Critical threat42 Divide Timber ProjectOregon

All 146 places, the fifty states and the wildlife

The living map

Find them on the land

Every place under threat, sized by what’s happening to it: an open comment window, a live docket, the threat level. Open one to see who’s defending it, or switch the map to where the groups are based.

Cumberland IslandWhite MountainGifford PinchotGrand CanyonBig Cypress
Comment window openIn federal courtCritical threatThreat developing or on watchLarger dot, more urgent

Alaska 6 Off the plate: the Alaska fights beyond the 6 ranked above

  1. Critical threatDalton Corridor / D-1 Lands
  2. Critical threatGreens Creek Mine / Admiralty Island NM
  3. On watchBristol Bay Watershed
  4. Threat developingChugach National Forest
  5. Threat developingLake Clark National Park & Preserve
  6. Threat developingTwin Mountain II Timber Sale (Tongass)

Oceans and islands 5 Marine monuments and the outer continental shelf

  1. Critical threatMariana Trench & Rose Atoll Marine Monuments
  2. Critical threatPacific Remote Islands Marine NM
  3. Critical threatPapahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
  4. Threat developingAmerican Samoa Outer Continental Shelf
  5. Threat developingNorthern Mariana Islands Outer Continental Shelf

The matchmaker

Don’t know where to start? We’ll introduce you.

Five answers. Four seats, each filled by a public record, never by a favor.

1 A place I love
2 Out there, I
3 Home ground
4 I’d rather

Money, sweat and voice all count.

5 I’d back

No preference. The seats keep the lineup mixed.

Four seats, each filled by a record

Nobody is on the lineup until you answer. Name a place and its leading group, per our editors, takes the first seat.

  1. Your best fit

    The highest score on your answers. Groups within a few points of it take turns.

  2. Close to home

    Reserved for a group based in your state.

  3. Small budget, under $5M a year

    Reserved for a group under $5M a year on its latest IRS 990.

  4. In federal court now

    Reserved for a group with an active federal docket.

The whole network

271 groups, standing by

The heavyweights, the litigators, the land trusts, and the friends group that knows your trailhead by name. Search them, filter them, meet them. More Than Just Parks, which publishes STAND, is on the map but not ranked in its own directory.

271 of 271
Most on the record the national groups our editors tie to the most places, and the most live federal cases
Center for Biological DiversityLegal · National · Est. 1989 · Tucson, AZTo secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.12 live federal casesOn the record for 19 placesSierra ClubAdvocacy · National · Est. 1892 · Oakland, CATo explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth.4 live federal casesOn the record for 19 placesEarthjusticeLegal · National · Est. 1971 · San Francisco, CABecause the earth needs a good lawyer.4 live federal casesOn the record for 12 placesThe Wilderness SocietyAdvocacy · National · Est. 1935 · Washington, DCTo protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.3 live federal casesOn the record for 12 placesNational Parks Conservation AssociationAdvocacy · National · Est. 1919 · Washington, DCTo protect and enhance America’s National Park System.On the record for 12 placesDefenders of WildlifeAdvocacy · National · Est. 1947 · Washington, DCTo protect and restore imperiled species and their habitats.3 live federal casesOn the record for 7 places
More national organizations 71 the most on the record first, then the largest
National Audubon SocietyAdvocacy · National · Est. 1905 · New York, NYTo protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow.1 live federal caseOn the record for 4 placesNatural Resources Defense CouncilLegal · National · Est. 1970 · New York, NYTo safeguard the earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.2 live federal casesOn the record for 3 placesEarthworksWatchdog · National · Est. 1988 · Washington, DCProtect communities and the environment from the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development.On the record for 5 placesNational Wildlife FederationAdvocacy · National · Est. 1936 · Reston, VATo unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world.1 live federal caseOn the record for 3 placesNational Wildlife Refuge AssociationAdvocacy · National · Est. 1975 · Washington, DCConserve America’s wildlife heritage for future generations through the National Wildlife Refuge System.2 live federal casesOn the record for 2 placesAmerican RiversAdvocacy · National · Est. 1973 · Washington, DCTo protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water.On the record for 3 placesBackcountry Hunters & AnglersAdvocacy · National · Est. 2004 · Missoula, MTTo ensure North America’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in wild public lands and waters.On the record for 3 placesFriends of the EarthAdvocacy · National · Est. 1969 · Washington, DCTo defend the environment and champion a healthy and just world.2 live federal casesOn the record for 1 placeWilderness WatchLegal · National · Est. 1989 · Missoula, MTTo protect America’s enduring legacy of wilderness.2 live federal casesOn the record for 1 place
Regional and local 193 the most on the record first, then the largest
Western Watersheds ProjectLegal · 11 states · Est. 1993 · Hailey, IDTo protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife.4 live federal casesOn the record for 9 placesAlaska Wilderness LeagueAdvocacy · 1 state · Est. 1993 · Washington, DCTo galvanize support for Alaska’s wild lands and waters.3 live federal casesOn the record for 5 placesConservation Lands FoundationAdvocacy · West · Est. 2007 · Durango, COTo protect, restore, and expand the National Conservation Lands.On the record for 8 placesCascadia WildlandsGrassroots · Oregon · Est. 1997 · Eugene, ORTo defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems.2 live federal casesOn the record for 5 placesCrag Law CenterLegal · Oregon · Est. 2001 · Portland, ORTo protect and sustain the Pacific Northwest’s natural legacy.1 live federal caseOn the record for 5 placesOregon WildGrassroots · 1 state · Est. 1974 · Portland, ORTo protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters.1 live federal caseOn the record for 5 placesAdvocates for the WestLegal · 6 states · Est. 2003 · Boise, IDProtect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the American West through law.1 live federal caseOn the record for 4 placesCalifornia Wilderness CoalitionGrassroots · 1 state · Est. 1976 · Oakland, CATo protect and restore California’s wildest natural landscapes.On the record for 5 placesSouthern Environmental Law CenterLegal · 6 states · Est. 1986 · Charlottesville, VATo protect the basic right to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate.1 live federal caseOn the record for 4 places
The Briefing

The fights, the wins, and the people carrying them.

Original reporting on America’s public lands from Will and Jim, free. The same reporting behind every case and every place on this page.

Get the Briefing
Free forever · Unsubscribe anytime