We recap our 2025 favorite conservation moments and wins in Greater Yellowstone.

When the Roadless Rule was adopted in 2001, it followed one of the most robust public engagement processes in U.S. history. In stark contrast, the USDA initiated the current rescission process in August with a 21-day comment period and no public meetings. 

Before decisions are made that could permanently alter these irreplaceable landscapes, the American public deserves a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

What we’ve learned over the last four decades, and even more acutely understood in just the last few years, is that conserving a place as big as Greater Yellowstone starts small. Conservation of this beloved region begins first in conversations with friends, stakeholders, and neighbors. It’s working together with all people to build home-grown solutions that protect iconic wildlife, our public lands, and the cold, clean waters that are the lifeblood of Greater Yellowstone. And it turns out that when we work together, we’re greater.

Much has recently been written about the galvanizing force of public lands. I suggest we strive for more than simply defending public land from the highest bidder or biggest dozer. Let’s proactively protect them. This is the best investment we can make for ourselves, our children, and our way life. Fortunately, there are two opportunities right now in southwest Montana to do just that.  

Our drinking water, pristine public lands, and iconic wildlife are at risk. This week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its plans to strip millions of acres of forest lands of their protections, including more than 58 million acres across the country and nearly 19 million acres in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Urgently, we need you to speak up for public lands – again.

Some of the wildest, most pristine forests in the region may be at risk under a proposal to roll back the 25-year-old Roadless Area Conservation Rule. These undeveloped lands provide drinking water, habitat for iconic wildlife, and world-class outdoor recreation opportunities.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest is big, iconic, and wild Wyoming. At 3.4 million acres, it is 15 percent of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, making it the ecosystem’s single-largest block of public land.  The 35-year-old plan that guides how the Bridger-Teton National Forest is managed for future generations is getting a modern update. The Forest Service is accepting comments on the Draft Assessment, and we need you to speak up for the Bridger-Teton by August 22. 

Southwest Montana’s Gallatin and Madison ranges are some of the wildest places left in the continental United States and they are a great source of that quiet and clarity of mind for a lot of folks.  As Montana continues to grow and change rapidly, and our public lands face a new wave of significant threats, we have a duty to make commonsense choices today so that our kids and grandkids can enjoy the way of life we’ve grown accustomed to around here.

On June 28, 2025, Utah Senator Mike Lee withdrew his American public land sell-off plan, which would have sold and privatized millions of acres of public land across 11 western states.

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of you raised your voice to defend a cherished corner of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from private development. The U.S. Forest Service is currently weighing a proposal from Grand Targhee Resort that would allow a significant expansion into the wild, undeveloped Mono Trees and South Bowl areas of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Thanks to your action, the call to protect these public lands is loud and clear.

GYC launches public lands protection campaign.

Right now, members of Congress are working on a plan to sell off our public lands. The very lands that unite us as Americans, that pump billions of dollars into Western states’ economies, and that have been part of our heritage for generations. 

We need you to tell your Senators today that our public lands are NOT for sale.