STAND for Public Lands: 263 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 · 263 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.

263organizations on the record
45live 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 (21 open), then live federal cases (10 places), then threat level.

  1. Comments close Sept 30 · 1 day leftBlue Mountains National ForestsOregonForest Service revises management plans for 4.9 million Blue Mountains acresOregon Wild
  2. Comments close Oct 6 · 7 days left · 18 placesUSDA proposes ending road and logging bans on 58 million forest acresLos Padres National Forest and 17 more.Los Padres ForestWatch and Center for Biological Diversity, and 3 more on the record
  3. Comments close Oct 16Cumberland Island National SeashoreGeorgiaNPS weighs land swap at Cumberland Island National SeashoreNo group on the record yet. Comment directly.
  4. 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.
  5. 4 cases in federal court, newest 2025Oak Flat / Chi'chil BildagoteelArizonaOak Flat transferred to Resolution CopperCenter for Biological Diversity and Access Fund, and 2 more on the record
  6. 2 cases in federal court, newest 2024Book CliffsUtahMarch 2026 BLM lease sale: 57 parcels, 68,632 acres2 cases in court over it; the parties are on its page.
  7. 1 case in federal court, filed 2017Bears Ears National MonumentUtahTrump proclamation cuts monument 91%Utah Diné Bikéyah and Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and 6 more on the record
  8. 1 case in federal court, filed 2017Grand Staircase-EscalanteUtahTrump proclamation cuts monument 90%Grand Staircase Escalante Partners and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and 3 more on the record

Next on the list

  1. 1 case in federal court, filed 2026Western Oregon O&C LandsOregon
  2. 1 case in federal court, filed 2026American PrairieMontana
  3. 1 case in federal court, filed 2018Boundary Waters Canoe Area WildernessMinnesota
  4. 1 case in federal court, filed 2024Adobe Town WSAWyoming
  5. Critical threatBaaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National MonumentArizona
  6. Critical threatChuckwalla National MonumentCalifornia
  7. Critical threatColorado BLM Lease SaleColorado
  8. Critical threatGates of the Arctic (Ambler Road)Alaska
  9. Critical threatIzembek National Wildlife RefugeAlaska
  10. Critical threatArctic National Wildlife RefugeAlaska
  11. Critical threatCabinet Mountains WildernessMontana
  12. Critical threatNPR-A Teshekpuk Lake Special AreaAlaska

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.

Blue MountainsLos PadresAlleghenyMark TwainGreen Mountain
Comment window openIn federal courtCritical threatThreat developing or on watchLarger dot, more urgent

Alaska 5 Off the plate: the Alaska fights beyond the 7 ranked above

  1. Critical threatDalton Corridor / D-1 Lands
  2. Threat developingBristol Bay Watershed
  3. Threat developingGreens Creek Mine / Admiralty Island NM
  4. Threat developingLake Clark National Park & Preserve
  5. 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 threatPapahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
  3. Threat developingAmerican Samoa Outer Continental Shelf
  4. Threat developingNorthern Mariana Islands Outer Continental Shelf
  5. Threat developingPacific Remote Islands Marine NM

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

263 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.

263 of 263
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.20 live federal casesOn the record for 19 placesSierra ClubAdvocacy · National · Est. 1892 · Oakland, CATo explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth.5 live federal casesOn the record for 18 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.4 live federal casesOn the record for 7 places
More national organizations 71 the most on the record first, then the largest
EarthworksWatchdog · National · Est. 1988 · Washington, DCProtect communities and the environment from the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development.2 live federal casesOn the record for 5 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 placesNational 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 3 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 placesAmerican RiversAdvocacy · National · Est. 1973 · Washington, DCTo protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water.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 placeNational Wildlife Refuge AssociationAdvocacy · National · Est. 1975 · Washington, DCConserve America’s wildlife heritage for future generations through the National Wildlife Refuge System.1 live federal caseOn the record for 2 placesThe Conservation FundLand Trust · National · Est. 1985 · Arlington, VAProtect America’s most important landscapes and waterways.On the record for 2 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 2 places
Regional and local 185 the most on the record first, then the largest
Western Watersheds ProjectLegal · 9 states · Est. 1993 · Hailey, IDTo protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife.6 live federal casesOn the record for 7 placesCascadia WildlandsGrassroots · Oregon · Est. 1997 · Eugene, ORTo defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems.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 placesWildEarth GuardiansLegal · 8 states · Est. 1996 · Santa Fe, NMTo protect and restore the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.5 live federal casesOn the record for 3 placesAlaska Wilderness LeagueAdvocacy · 1 state · Est. 1993 · Washington, DCTo galvanize support for Alaska’s wild lands and waters.2 live federal casesOn the record for 5 placesOregon WildGrassroots · 1 state · Est. 1974 · Portland, ORTo protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters.2 live federal casesOn the record for 5 placesSouthern Utah Wilderness AllianceGrassroots · 1 state · Est. 1983 · Salt Lake City, UTTo preserve outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau.4 live federal casesOn the record for 3 placesAdvocates for the WestLegal · 6 states · Est. 2003 · Boise, IDProtect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the American West through law.2 live federal casesOn 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 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.

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