CLiF Notes: Connect with National Conservation Lands

This week, Conservation Lands Foundation turns 16! 

Since 2007, your support helped:

• Grow our Friends Network from 10 community-led organizations to more than 80
• Permanently protect more than 10 million acres of National Conservation Lands 
• Defend and restore more than 15 million acres of public land from oil and gas development.

Thank you for joining us as we continue to protect millions more acres as National Conservation Lands for a healthy and prosperous future for all. 

In this CLiF Notes edition, we have several updates and opportunities for you to get involved, let’s dive in! 

On May 1, we launched the Respect. Connect. Protect. Campaign in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and members of our Friends Grassroots Network to increase the public’s understanding of how to visit remote, rugged, and sensitive National Conservation Lands safely, respectfully, and responsibly. 

The campaign is designed to engage the next generation of visitors - particularly Gen Z and Millennials - and introduces Spokespebble, the adorable yet earnest voice to support respectful and safe visits on National Conservation Lands. Respect. Connect. Protect. produces endearing videos and social media content to drive people to the campaign’s website portal for tips and resources. 

We invite you to help us spread the word by sharing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. 

In March, the Bureau of Land Management proposed the “Public Lands Rule,” a new plan for the future of public land management that puts conservation on equal footing with resource extraction and other development uses. 

The Bureau of Land Management is hosting four public meetings for you to learn more about this proposal that would rebalance the agency’s priorities.

We urge you to attend any of the following virtual and in-person meetings:

• Denver, Colorado: Thursday, May 25, 5-7 p.m. MT 
  • Denver West Marriott, 1717 Denver West Blvd, Golden, Colorado
• Albuquerque, New Mexico: Tuesday, May 30, 5-7 p.m. MT
  • Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Reno, Nevada: Thursday, June 1, 5-7 p.m. PT 
  • Reno-Sparks Convention Center, 4950 S Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada
• Virtual Meeting: Monday, June 5, 9:30-11:30 a.m. MT
  • Register Here

Time is running out to show your support for bringing balance to how public lands are managed for generations to come.

Submit Your Comment Today

Elevating Tribal Voices in D.C.

Earlier this month, we brought together five Indigenous leaders from across the West to Washington D.C. The advocates met with members of Congress and officials at the Department of the Interior and the White House Council on Environmental Quality to address the importance of Tribal co-stewardship, the recently proposed Public Lands Rule, and the protection of sacred landscapes that hold Indigenous cultural connections. 

Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) can be an important tool for managing and protecting places of cultural importance to Indigenous communities on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. However, the agency has not been consistent in identifying, designating, and managing ACECs, leaving many of these places open to harm.

Participants expressed how the new Public Lands Rule can help the agency prioritize the designation and management of ACECs identified and nominated by Indigenous communities like those in the Red Desert in Wyoming. 

Thank you to the Indigenous leaders for their meaningful participation:

• Big Wind, Media and Communications, Wyoming Outdoor Council and Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming  
• Patti Baldes, Director, Wind River Native Advocacy Center
• Crystal C’Bearing, Deputy Director, Northern Arapaho Tribal Historic Preservation Office
• Yufna Soldier Wolf, Tribal Advocate for Conservation, Wyoming Outdoor Council; Founder, Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming
• Skylar Begay, Director, Tribal Collaboration in Outreach & Advocacy, Archaeology Southwest

Learn more about the trip from the Indigenous Land Alliance here. 

Introducing a New Look

Conservation Lands Foundation’s website has a fresh new look! We’ve redesigned conservationlands.org to make it even easier for you to donate, take action, and stay up-to-date with everything we do. 

Be sure to take a look around and don’t miss our intro video on the homepage featuring CLF board, staff, and Friends Grassroots Network members.

Visit Our New Site