About Us
As a women-led* organization, we bring knowledge, leadership, and humor to the conservation movement to protect our last wild places on earth.
Vision:
Wild public lands are treasured for their intrinsic values and protected for current and future generations.
Values Statement:
Wilderness and public lands are for everyone; they are the heritage of all and a gift to future generations.
We value:
- National public lands and waters.
- The spirit and intent of national conservation legislation such as the Wilderness Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Antiquities Act, which protect wild places that once destroyed, may be gone forever.
- The natural world as a community where humans, as one small piece of an interconnected whole, must take responsibility for care.
- Sound science as a basis for informed decisions.
- Being bold, courageous, and fearless in defense of wild lands.
- Humor, grace, common sense, and passion.
- Openness to all perspectives.
- Dialogue to resolve conflicts.
- Expanding racial, cultural, and gender diversity in the conservation movement.
- Broadness as a state of mind.
(* For Broads, the term “women” includes and represents anyone who self-identifies as a woman.)
Founding Broads Ginger Harmon, Susan Tixier, Edie Pierpont, Frandee Johnson, and Dottie Fox.
Great Old Broads for Wilderness was founded in 1989 on the 25th anniversary of the Wilderness Act by a feisty bunch of lady hikers who wanted to refute then-U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch’s notion that wilderness is inaccessible to elders. About that time, wilderness designation had been proposed for Escalante, and Senator Hatch opposed it, saying, “if for no other reason, we need roads for the aged and infirm.”
Outrage Begets A New Voice
Founder Susan Tixier and her fellow activists were outraged, and with sudden clarity, saw that an important voice was missing from the environmental movement: the older woman—impassioned, experienced, not afraid to speak out, and definitely not needing roads. The group committed themselves to grassroots advocacy to preserve wilderness and wild places for future generations.
What’s in a Name?
Tixier and her colleagues happily settled on their role and purpose, but hadn’t yet decided on what to call themselves. Fate brought an answer to them. One fine day while the gang was out hiking and discussing what action to take next, they came upon a group of elderly ladies coming off a trail—dusty, tan, sinewy, and gray-haired. Someone remarked “What a bunch of great old broads”.
The name stuck. It captured the spirit of the budding entity they envisioned, emphasizing the old and the feminine. More importantly, the moniker had humor, a core value of the group from the beginning.
Concept to Coalescence
The early framework declared Broads to be a nonprofit, social organization dedicated to the protection, use, and enjoyment of the wilderness (designated, proposed, or imagined).
The early days were informal—there were no dues. To become a member you just had to declare yourself one, and then you could buy a T-shirt to proclaim it to the rest of the world. The point was to have fun while doing what you were passionate about.
The Broads sat around kitchen tables and brainstormed. The plan was to spend their time and energies on action protecting wilderness, not creating a formal organization with a paid staff.
A Force to Be Reckoned With
By 1993, with a growing membership and expenses, the board decided to institute annual dues—though payment was still optional. In 1994, it became necessary to hire a staff person to keep the membership database, publish the newsletter, Broadsides, and handle public relations. Broads was on its way to becoming a cohesive organization.
Today, Broads has a small staff and our ranks have grown to more than 8,500 members and supporters. There are nearly 40 Broadbands (chapters) from coast to coast dedicated to local and national wilderness issues. We consider Broadness to be a state of mind. No matter how you identify, or whether you are young or old, if you share our love for wilderness and a passion to protect wild places then you’re a “Broad!”
Great Old Broads for Wilderness is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and broader conservation community.
Our Broad commitment means:
- We are focused on the inclusive value that “broadness is a state of mind”;
- We are open to all perspectives while encouraging dialogue to resolve conflicts;
- We develop deep and authentic partnerships with diverse communities to further a broad set of conservation goals;
- We understand and respect the goals of communities with which we work;
- We identify and find ways to eliminate barriers that prevent full diversified public participation; and
- We seek common ground to work collaboratively for the long-term.
We define diversity broadly to include age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, geographies, socio-economic status, and political affiliation.
By including diverse voices, we seek to engage the cooperation of as many constituencies as possible to strengthen support for ecosystem preservation and balance, conservation of public lands, and the environmental justice issues associated with these issues.
We seek the representative voices of Indigenous peoples whose present-day identity and ancestral history are embedded in the land, along with the full diversity of cultures and ethnicities that make up the country’s population. We pledge to work in collaboration with individuals and organizations to respect and honor diverse cultural perspectives of public lands.
Fostering diversity and inclusiveness is an ongoing process requiring continuous awareness and diligence. Diversity is not a project or task with an end point.
Broads identify, engage, invest in, and listen to partners and community leaders as we work towards a more representative and inclusive conservation movement, and make choices consistent with those investments.
When working in new communities, we work to gain full understanding of issues facing those communities; and we are mindful of those issues, our potential impacts, and the need to follow through on clear commitments.
We will integrate diversity and inclusiveness awareness throughout our programs and organizational structure. We work to create an environment in which all feel valued and respected, where learning and integrity are fostered, and laughter and fun are appreciated.
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching to mend the part that is within our reach.”
—Clarissa Pinkola Estes
WHO WE ARE
Great Old Broads for Wilderness (Broads) is a grassroots nonprofit organization founded by older women to protect and expand wild public lands. We do this by engaging in education, advocacy, and stewardship. We take firm positions but do so in a positive, lively and respectful spirit. The bulk of our advocacy work is done by a nationwide network of volunteer Broadbands, topic-based National or Regional Advocacy Teams, and individual members. Our organization is supported by a dedicated and knowledgeable team of staff members and an all-volunteer Board of Directors. We are a fully geographically dispersed organization with members, Broadbands, staff and Board members located across the US.
As a nationwide, women-led organization, Broads enjoys a singular niche at a time when women’s leadership is essential. Broads’ leadership by older women injects much-needed skill, experience, and commitment to protect public lands. We bond through shared values and nurture each other as we nurture the planet.
Broads welcomes, respects, and commits to increasing the diversity of members, volunteers, staff, board, and partners. We honor and value the traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous people and the expansion of co-stewardship of lands to bring Indigenous expertise to decision making.
Broad’s organizational culture is a combination of education, advocacy, and stewardship—with an emphasis on humor and fun while achieving our goals. We are driven by a love of place and a desire to work as a community to protect wild nature. We care about wild places for their capacity to create a sense of awe, connection, and renewal.
Broads takes a two-pronged approach to public lands advocacy. We collaborate with land management agencies on stewardship and monitoring, but we also serve as effective advocates, holding agencies accountable for ecologically-sound management practices.
Our deep level of engagement and extensive history in public lands advocacy qualifies Broads to pursue legal action when necessary to protect and defend wild places. We believe in democracy and dialogue, and encourage a science-based approach to management of public lands and waters and to problem-solving. Our work is driven by a moral urgency to protect the Earth, and its myriad and intricate systems to sustain all forms of life in perpetuity.
WHY UPDATE THE STRATEGIC PLAN?
Broads stands at a pivotal juncture. We created a Strategic Plan in 2023 with a three-year horizon but much has changed that warrants reconsideration of how best to use our unique capabilities in the conservation community. The new administration has initiated major shifts in policies and priorities that will challenge us to maintain protections for public lands, waters, biodiversity and wilderness. Our grassroots approach, executed with humor and feistiness, is up to the challenge. We take this opportunity to strengthen our organization and reinvigorate our staff and our base. This Streamlined Strategic plan is designed to carry us through 2027 with the understanding that as conservation challenges evolve, the plan may need to be adapted to new realities.
WE VALUE
- Wilderness and public lands and waters as the heritage of all, a gift we owe to future generations.
- The natural world as a community where humans, as one small piece of an interconnected whole, must take responsibility for care.
- Sound science as a basis for informed decisions.
- Grassroots, women-lead conservation leadership
- Openness to multiple perspectives.
- Learning from varied cultural histories and ways of connecting to lands and waters.
- Shared integrity of all including our members, staff, partners, board and agency personnel.
STRATEGIES
- Protect bedrock conservation laws such as the Wilderness Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act and Antiquities Act, which protect wild places and biodiversity, once destroyed, are gone forever.
- Advocate for avoidance of harms before capitulating to minimization or mitigation.
- Collaborate with partners to expand our impact.
- Support our volunteer, grassroots, women-lead teams and campaigns.
- Combine fun with our education, advocacy and stewardship work.
- Be bold and fearless in defense of wild lands, using humor and passion in our work.
- Use dialogue, active listening, and common sense to resolve conflicts.
- Expand racial, cultural, and gender diversity in the conservation movement.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
- Advocacy
- The Executive Director and the Science and Advocacy Committee will collaboratively set priorities for resource allocations for advocacy work, guided by severity of threats to wild places, biodiversity and ecosystem integrity as well as the potential positive impact of Broads actions.
- Broads National Advocacy Teams, the Science and Advocacy Committee, local Broadbands and staff will work together to identify and lead advocacy efforts on key national legislation, regulations, and federal agency policies impacting the welfare of public lands, waters, ecosystem health and biodiversity.
- Broads Regional Advocacy Teams and local Broadbands will work together to identify and advocate on regional and state level legislation, regulations and agency policies impacting the welfare of public lands and waters in their area.
- Broads will seek out and actively collaborate with partner organizations that share our goals when it strengthens our impact.
- Stewardship
- All Broadbands, on their own or with partner organizations in their regions, will get outside and lend a hand to nurture wild landscapes.
- Individual Broads, on their own or in groups, engage in monitoring, data collection, ecosystem improvement projects on public lands, often in collaboration with other organizations with shared values.
- Broads will offer at least two national and multiple regional Broadwalks that include boots on the ground and hands in the dirt stewardship activities for all participants.
- Broads will help participants gain the skills to confidently share their wisdom and experience with other Broads, the wider conservation community and the public by participating in virtual and in-person events.
- Education
- Broads will provide members with educational programs and tools to deepen their understanding of healthy ecosystems in their regions.
- Broads will increase members’ familiarity with key laws and federal and state agencies responsible for protecting public lands.
- Broads will provide training for interested members in how to engage the public and elected officials to advocate for the welfare of public lands and waters.
- Broads will develop the leadership capabilities of interested members at annual training events designed for current or future Broadband leaders.
- Fun
- In our Broadbands and our organization as a whole, Broads will explicitly seek to build strong communities which care for and support one another as we work together.
- Broads will purposely incorporate joy and humor into planning and carrying out our challenging work.
- Fundraising & Organizational Growth
- Recruit, hire and on-board a new Executive Director by 4Q2025.
- Increase prudent reserve funds by completing the building sale and divesting unused equipment.
- Support the growth and development of Broads’ staff members and ensure that they have the resources needed to accomplish their work.
- Support the establishments of new Broads National and Regional Advocacy Teams to address new and increasing threats to public lands and waters.
- Increase membership by 5% by end of 2026 and by 10% by end of 2027.
- Increase funds raised from members and private donations by 5% by end of 2026 and by 10% by end of 2027.
- Increase grant funding by 5% by end of 2026 and by 10% by end of 2027.
- Develop improved communication systems as needed to promote membership growth, enhance communication to unaffiliated Broads and support connections between members with common advocacy concerns.