Alaska
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America’s Arctic
Located in the northernmost part of Alaska above the Arctic Circle, America’s Arctic contains two vast landscapes of deep ecological and cultural importance: the Western Arctic and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These places sustain wildlife and Indigenous cultures, and they are among the last truly wild public lands in America.
Western Arctic
Spanning more than 23 million acres, the Western Arctic comprises the largest single unit of wild public land in America, bigger than 10 Yellowstone National Parks.
It is the homeland of Alaska Native Iñupiat communities and supports robust, wild ecosystems.
Communities have depended on these resources for millennia, including three major caribou herds and more than 50 species of migratory fish, birds and marine mammals.
The Threat
Officials in Washington, D.C., and their oil and gas allies are mandating massive oil and gas lease sales here and nullifying a balanced, science-based plan that strengthened protections for areas in the Western Arctic that are essential to wildlife and Native subsistence resources.
My experience and childhood are some of the biggest motivators for why I spend time, effort and energy into protecting [the Western Arctic] for future generations.
Nauri Simmonds
Executive Director
Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
It’s no wonder that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is called the crown jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
At more than 19 million acres, the Arctic Refuge in northeastern Alaska is America’s largest wildlife refuge. Its Coastal Plain provides vital denning habitat for endangered polar bears and is the calving ground of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, one of the largest herds on Earth today at nearly 143,000 caribou.
For Gwich’in and Iñupiat communities, the Coastal Plain is a source of nourishment, cultural identity and connection.
The Threat
Drilling and its associated infrastructure and equipment would have devastating impacts on this sacred homeland and harm wildlife like polar bears, caribou and migratory birds. In 2025, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum reinstated an aggressive program that opens the refuge’s entire 1.5-million‑acre Coastal Plain to industrial development. New legislation will also force more oil and gas lease sales in the refuge.
We’re trying to educate the world in a good way about why we say no to oil and gas in the Coastal Plain of Arctic Refuge—to us it is Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, the Sacred Place where the Life Begins ... and so critical for Gwich’in way of life.
Sarah James
Neets’aii Gwich’in Elder Spokesperson
Our Work to Protect America’s Arctic
The Wilderness Society has been working to protect and defend this region for more than 90 years, playing a leadership role that convenes national, Alaska and Indigenous partners to guide strategic campaign defense for the region.
Generous support enables us to:
- Punch above our weight on legal strategy and litigation, navigating Alaska’s complex laws and ensuring Indigenous needs and rights are woven into effective court challenges.
- Support full-time caribou and fish biologists whose research enhances our legal defense and elevates the food security issue for Indigenous communities who rely on these traditional Arctic resources.
- Help lead the Arctic Defense Campaign, a broad coalition advocating for permanent protection of the Refuge through the Arctic Refuge Protection Act, which would cancel leases and designate the crucial Coastal Plain of the refuge as wilderness.
Arizona
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From the plateau of the Mogollon Rim to the stark beauty of the low desert and the rich biodiversity of the Sky Islands, Arizona boasts ecological diversity unmatched by many other states. The Wilderness Society builds on decades of collaborative, bipartisan work to protect the public lands and values that residents hold dear.
Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni –
Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument
Baaj Nwaavjo translates to “where Indigenous Peoples roam” in Havasupai and I’tah Kukveni translates to “our ancestral footprints” in Hopi—thus the monument’s name translates to where Indigenous Peoples roam, our ancestral footprints.
The Arizona monument near the Grand Canyon protects an array of scientific and historical resources for future generations, including cultural heritage, incredible biodiversity and precious, clean waters. These public lands are a vital economic engine, drawing visitors from all over the globe.
An essential wildlife corridor, the landscape also hosts more than 2,000 cultural resources, from petroglyphs to pictographs and rock shelters. These places are are still used by Native people to hunt game and gather foods and medicine.
The Threat
The administration has called for a review of the monument. Legislation introduced in Congress would, if passed, abolish protections for this treasured place, which is supported by 80% of Arizona voters.
Come to the national monument, sit out in the environment among the trees, among the animals... it’ll change your life. It’s worth preserving for future generations and for all mankind.
Carletta Tilousi
Grand Canyon Tribal Leaders’ Coalition Coordinator
Our Work to Protect Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni
Driving a multifaceted strategy, The Wilderness Society leads a national coalition that continues to voice opposition to industrial development on the landscape.
Generous support enables us to:
- Maintain staff on the ground who have built longstanding, trusted relationships with elected officials, landowners, sportsmen groups and business leaders—a broad range of voices we funded to travel to Washington, D.C. to elevate shared monument values with lawmakers.
- Continue to highlight the dangers of uranium mining to the region’s water supply using the comprehensive monument watershed map that we developed with science partners, creating a compelling data set for congressional members to support the monument.
Arizona
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Ironwood Forest National Monument
Spanning 129,000 acres in the Sonoran Desert, Ironwood Forest was designated as a national monument with strong community support over 25 years ago.
The monument provides habitat and connectivity for Arizona’s native species like bighorn sheep, protects countless scientific resources and preserves the freedom of current and future generations to explore these public lands.
Thousands of ancient ironwood trees, which can live to over 800 years old, dot the landscape. The national monument is in the homelands of the Tohono O’odham Nation; humans have inhabited the area for millennia.
The Threat
Copper mining looms over this special landscape. The monument is reportedly under review by the administration and legislation introduced in Congress would, if passed, abolish its protections entirely.
These are areas that are part of the identity of who we are as a county and who we are as southern Arizona. We value protecting lands, because ... we want to protect our health and protect our future.
Jennifer Allen
Vice-Chair, District 3 Supervisor
Pima County, Arizona
Our Work to Protect Ironwood Forest National Monument
Through The Wilderness Society’s leadership both in-state and within the national monument coalition, protections for Ironwood are broadly supported by the Tohono O’odham Nation, as well as local governments, businesses and grassroots groups.
Generous support enables us to:
- Cultivate decades-long trust with sportsmen groups and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to reintroduce native desert bighorn sheep to the Catalina Mountains, which will enable healthy sheep to move between the monument and other wild ranges in southern Arizona.
- Secure additional vocal support for keeping monument designation intact. Pima County and the cities of Tucson and Marana have passed resolutions opposing any reductions in the monument’s boundaries or loosening of its protections, and we delivered a supportive letter from more than 100 regional businesses to members of Congress.
Colorado
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Western Colorado Canyons and Mesas
The traditional homelands for area Tribes, Western Colorado exists at the intersection of several prized ecosystems—mountains, rivers, canyons and the high desert—that offer abundant recreational opportunities, like fishing, hunting, rafting and hiking.
The Colorado River supports ranching heritage and essential habitat for native fish like the Colorado River cutthroat trout and hundreds of species of birds and mammals, including elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep.
The Threat
Balanced, protective management plans for this region are now at risk of being rescinded, which would open the vast majority of lands to oil and gas leasing—including beloved recreation areas and important cultural sites—and overturn years of local public input on why the area matters.
Vince Anderson
Owner of Skyward Mountaineering
If you want to get out and connect with nature, the public lands in Western Colorado provide an amazing opportunity...
I try to highlight the fact that being in these unique places is a privilege that is worth maintaining.
Our Work to Protect Western Colorado Canyons and Mesas
The Wilderness Society invests locally to protect mid- and lower elevation lands that conserve Western Colorado’s robust biodiversity and wildlife habitat in the face of a changing climate.
Generous support enables us to:
- Engage in revision of agency management plans for Western Colorado’s landscapes, ensuring that any energy development is balanced with recreational and wildlife values that drive the state’s $65-billion-dollar outdoor recreation economy.
- Develop legal strategy that increases conservation designations and reduces oil and gas leasing in the region.
Minnesota
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Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Located in Northeast Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of America’s most visited wilderness areas.
This stunning interconnected system of lakes, streams and rivers spans one million acres of wilderness and features dazzling views of the northern lights.
Important habitat for iconic wildlife such as moose, Canada lynx and gray wolves, the region also provides important subsistence resources like wild rice to Indigenous Anishinaabe people, who retain longstanding treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather there.
The Threat
The administration has taken recent, aggressive steps to advance mining on the Superior National Forest, right in the headwaters of this ecosystem. Sulfuric acid and heavy metals could contaminate the pristine waters for which the landscape is protected and loved.
I worry about the ripple effects of having a copper nickel mine on the edge of the wilderness. ... Is that copper more valuable than clean potable water with healthy fisheries and healthy wild rice for centuries into the future?
Lacey Squier
Manager, Boundary Waters Connect
Our Work to Protect the Boundary Waters
The Wilderness Society has played a key role in elevating the fight to save the Boundary Waters to a nationwide audience—engaging Americans who love public lands on social media and in the halls of Congress.
Generous support enables us to:
- Continue applying pressure on lawmakers to permanently protect this iconic region from toxic mining by passing the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act.
- Launch an aggressive legal strategy—supported by nimble communications and robust record-building—to reverse the harmful advance of mining on the Superior National Forest and prevent future attacks on this fragile ecosystem.
More landscapes at risk
6. Nevada, The Ruby Mountains
7. New Mexico, The Greater Chaco Region
8. Utah, Bears Ears National Monument
9. Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
10. Wyoming, The Northern Red Desert and Big Sandy Foothills
