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Public Lands Alliance exists to support the remarkable nonprofit organizations and the dedicated people behind them who show up every day for America's public lands. Maintaining trails, welcoming visitors, educating communities, advocating for protection — this work is endless, and it matters deeply. By building a strong, connected community where everyone working toward the same goal can lean on each other, we've been able to create more impact together than any of us could alone.

 

None of what you see below would exist without the partners, donors, volunteers, and advocates who have invested in this mission alongside us. We are truly grateful for every single one of them — and for the difference, together, we've been able to make.

Highlights of Impact  

Impact Stats  

Financials  

 

Collage of photos showing people on public lands

 

140+ 

Nonprofit Members

700+

Lands Supported Across all 50 States

5

Federal Agencies Represented

National Park Service

USDA Forest Service

Bureau of Land Management

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF IMPACT

Change happens when people refuse to stand still. The stories you'll find here are proof of what a committed community can accomplish — real progress, made by real people, protecting the wild places that belong to all of us. This is what it looks like when dedication becomes impact.

Large group of volunteers celebrating under the shade of fall trees

Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail — From Neighbors with Rakes to a Trail Worth Celebrating

A trail was falling apart. Bumps, potholes, invasive plants creeping in from the edges, bridges that had seen better days. And a small group of neighbors who loved the Mount Vernon Trail decided they weren't going to wait for someone else to fix it.

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Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail — From Neighbors with Rakes to a Trail Worth Celebrating

A trail was falling apart. Bumps, potholes, invasive plants creeping in from the edges, bridges that had seen better days. And a small group of neighbors who loved the Mount Vernon Trail decided they weren't going to wait for someone else to fix it. That decision — made in 2018 — turned into something no one could have predicted. Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail began showing up week after week along the 18-mile Potomac River path connecting George Washington's estate to Theodore Roosevelt Island. They learned what they could, built a volunteer community, and kept going. As the organization grew, so did its reach: more volunteers, more partners, more resources — and more impact on the trail that thousands of cyclists, runners, and walkers depend on every day.


By 2025, the numbers told the story: over 4,100 volunteer hours in a single year, 721 trail repairs and improvements, and a newly rebuilt bridge spanning Dyke Marsh that set a new standard for what a community-driven partnership can achieve. In 2026, Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail was awarded the Public Lands Alliance Trail of the Year Award — national recognition earned by an organization built entirely on the conviction that people who care, and who are willing to do the work, can actually change things.

Photos courtesy of Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail

Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge — Creating Mindfulness in Nature

Tucked into the Texas Hill Country, Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge is 28,000 acres of juniper oak forest, rolling meadowlands, and some of the finest songbird habitat in the South. It is also, for the people who live near it, something simpler and more personal: a place to go when life gets loud.

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Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge — Creating Mindfulness in Nature

The Friends of Balcones Canyonlands NWR had a vision for a trail designed not for distance or difficulty, but for stillness. Flat, accessible, winding through the refuge, with benches and mindfulness signage inviting visitors to slow down, notice, and simply be present. Public Lands Alliance secured a grant through the Two for the Trails program, by Athletic Brewing Company, that enabled the Friends to bring that vision to life — funding the work in 2025 and culminating in the grand opening of the new Mindfulness Nature Trail at the Shin Oak Observation Deck.

This is one of the first in a nationwide network of mindfulness trails on National Wildlife Refuges. It's the kind of project that doesn't happen without the right connections at the right moment — a community-focused nonprofit, and a partnership with Public Lands Alliance, that helped turn a vision into something real. The result is a trail that welcomes everyone: a place where the refuge's mission of conservation and its invitation to connect with nature meet in one quiet, beautiful loop through the Texas Hill Country.

Photos courtesy of Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

2025 IMPACT STATS

Collective commitment is a powerful thing — and we're lucky to be surrounded by it. Across the country, a nationwide community of nonprofits, partners, and advocates has come together around a shared love for these lands.

2025 Impact Stats

FY 2024 FINANCIALS

Fiscal Year 2024 Financials

These amazing nonprofits do it all - they protect wild places, welcome visitors, create meaningful experiences, and ensure these lands remain vibrant and accessible for everyone. Every new partner, every donation, and every advocate who joins this cause strengthens that work and moves us closer to a future where public lands are supported for generations to come. We're grateful for everyone who has been part of this journey, and we welcome anyone ready to take the next step with us.