Broader Wilderness—Summer/Fall 2025
Broader Wilderness: Looking Back to Celebrate a Pair of Wins
Across the nation in 2025, our Broadbands and members have stepped up for Mother Earth.
And with so many new and unprecedented threats to our wild public lands—from new federal management rules that seek to bypass, if not just ignore outright, our nation’s bedrock environmental and conservation laws, to brazen attempts to just sell off America’s public lands to the highest bidder—the need for our member’s wisdom, experience, and tenacity has never been greater.
So, as we press forward with the fight for our public lands and remaining wild places, it’s also important that we take a look back to celebrate some very important conservation and environmental wins…
Senate Says “NO” to Public Lands Sales
(Photo: Bureau of Land Management)
This past June, the U.S. Senate rejected a dangerous (and deeply unpopular) scheme that would have put up to 1.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands across 11 Western states up for sale.
This proposal—introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as part of the FY 2025 Budget Bill (aka the “Big, Beautiful Bill)—had been presented as a solution to the “housing crisis,” but make no mistake: this was nothing more than an attempted land grab. There were no safeguards to ensure that the land to be sold will be used for that purpose, and research shows that very little of the land managed by the BLM is actually suitable for housing anyway.
The proposal had also been presented as a way to generate revenue—but in fact it would have only gone towards partially offsetting tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the country. It would have traded access to outdoor recreation (and the economic benefits that come with it for countless communities across the West) for a short-term payoff that only benefits the wealthy and well-connected few.
Local public lands are irreplaceable gateways to the outdoors, providing trails, river access, and space for hiking, biking, and fishing. These are where communities recreate daily and are often the most used and loved public lands—and once sold off, that access is lost forever. These lands are also the economic livelihood and identity of many Western communities, supporting local businesses, tourism, and outdoor recreation jobs. Selling them off would gut the very resources that make these towns vibrant, resilient, and rooted in place.
The notion of keeping public lands in the public’s hands—and out of the hands of destructive resource extraction industries like mining, oil, and natural gas—has widespread non-partisan support across the West. According to the annual State of the Rockies-Conservation in the West survey by Colorado College, 72 percent of Westerners prefer that their elected officials place more emphasis on protecting clean water sources, air quality, and wildlife habitat while providing opportunities to visit and recreate on public lands.
Fortunately—thanks largely to this bipartisan public outcry and bolstered by outreach by Broads and many other conservation and environmental organizations—the public lands sale provision was stripped out of the final bill.
Proposed Okefenokee Mining Operation Rejected
Okefenokee Swamp (Photo: U.S. Dept. of Interior)
Also in June, a deal was reached which put an end to a proposed titanium and zirconium mine which would have threatened the delicate Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge with destruction from water pollution and extraction.
The nearly 700 square mile Okefenokee Swamp along Georgia-Florida state line is a region characterized by diverse ecological and cultural history. This incredible landscape is one of live oaks and palmettos with hanging Spanish moss, diverse wildlife ranging from alligators to roseate spoonbills, and an array of aquatic ecosystems. The human history of the Okefenokee includes the Timucuan Native Americans, Spanish-British colonialism, Gullah Geechee communities, and powerful families like the Carnegies. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which covers roughly 350,000 acres, is one of the most popular landscapes in the National Wildlife Refuge system, with over 800,000 visitors each year.
The proposed mine, located on the Trail Ridge site on the eastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, would have been an ecological disaster just waiting to happen. But in June, the proposed mine owners, Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, sold the land to the Conservation Fund—an organization that buys at-risk land with high conservation value to protect it from development and degradation—for $60 million.
You can experience this beautiful landscape yourself this fall with the Oke to Ocean National Broadwalk, November 10-14. We will be exploring the Okefenokee Swamp, the St. Mary’s River, and Cumberland Island National Seashore all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. You don’t want to miss this opportunity—click here to register today!
Shout-Out to the Broads and Bros of the TAC!
Starting in November 2024, Robyn Cascade (current Broads Board Member & Northern San Juan Broadband) started facilitating the Transition Advocacy Committee (TAC), a group of wonderful, hardworking volunteers dedicated to tackling public lands advocacy in a time we need it most. While their work is still on-going, so far they’ve successfully updated Broads’ position statements, facilitated webinars including one for our entire membership on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), contributed to the writing of national Action Alerts, and so much more.
We extend our wildest gratitude to the TAC for graciously donating their time and expertise:
- Anne Dal Vera (Northern Front Range Broadband)
- Barbara Vasquez (Current Broads Board Member & Northwest Colorado Broadband)
- Chandra LeGue (Willamette Valley Broadband)
- Joe Breddan (Council of Advisors)
- Lauri Costello (Former Broads Board Member)
- Mary O’Brien (Former Broads Board Member)
- Nancy Frost (Current Broads Board Member & Nor’easter Broadband)
- Pam Conley (Bitterbrush Broadband)
- Rose Chilcoat (South San Juan Broadband)
- Roz Switzer (Sonoran Broadband)
- Suzanne Cable (Polly Dyer-Seattle Broadband)
Broads On the Go for Endangered Species Coalition D.C. Fly-In
Senator Jon Ossoff (center) meets with Grassroots Leadership Manager Julie Savage and environmental educator Dajawn Williams. (Official U.S. Senate photo by Rosa Pineda)
Broads Grassroots Leadership Manager Julie Savage had the privilege of joining the Endangered Species Coalition (ESC) in mid-May for a two-day Washington, D.C. fly-in where ESC members met with Congressional representatives across the country to encourage them to oppose provisions outlined in the S. 1462 Fix Our Forests Act and H.R. 1897 Endangered Species Act Amendments Act.
While in Washington D.C., Julie and Dajawn Williams, an environmental educator and fellow Georgia constituent, had the fortunate opportunities to meet Georgia U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock and members of their staff.
While there’s a great deal to learn in Washington, D.C., remember you don’t have to go all the way to our nation’s capital to meet with your Congressional representatives. You can look at yearly calendars or schedules to see when your representatives are in-district/at home. While they are in-district, you can request meetings at their in-district office(s), attend a local town hall or rally, or even invite them to attend your organized event.