Our Lands

At the local, state, and federal levels, the National Wildlife Federation is striving to conserve wildlife habitats. Through its advocacy on the Farm Bill, one of the largest sources of conservation funding in the federal government, the National Wildlife Federation ensures that U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs are authorized at appropriate levels, structured to achieve maximum wildlife and environmental benefits, and fully funded during the annual appropriations process. This is vital to our 21st-century land management strategies.

In order to protect our rapidly declining native grasslands, waterways, and the wildlife that depend on them, the National Wildlife Federation is also working to fix the flawed federal ethanol mandate that's led to soaring demand for corn. Though its intent was to foster cleaner fuels, the mandate has contributed to habitat destruction and contaminated drinking water over the last decade, threatening wildlife and our human health.

More than half of forests in the United States are in private ownership, and these forests provide a tremendous diversity of wildlife habitat. The National Wildlife Federation promotes the conservation and sustainable use of our nation’s forest lands. Partnering with our state affiliates, we have been helping private landowners in the Southeast manage and restore longleaf pine forests, a forest type that now covers less than 3 percent of its original range. The Federation is also active in elevating the role of forests in absorbing and storing carbon to fight climate change, and is working aggressively to halt tropical deforestation tied to the production of agricultural commodities like soy, palm oil, and leather.

Native grasslands are among the nation’s most rapidly declining habitats, and grassland-dependent birds and other wildlife are experiencing some of the steepest declines. Through our Wildlife Conflict Resolution program, the National Wildlife Federation uses a voluntary, market-based approach to retire grazing allotments where conflicts exist between livestock and wildlife. With the retirement of these allotments, we are securing vital habitat for wildlife and giving ranchers funds to relocate cattle to areas without such conflicts. The National Wildlife Federation also holds a biennial America's Grasslands Conference, bringing together researchers, natural resource professionals, farmers and ranchers, policy experts, and conservationists to discuss current issues related to the conservation of North America’s vanishing grasslands.

The National Wildlife Federation works to defend our nation’s cherished public lands from threats of transfer, privatization, or sell-off. We also work to redefine how energy development that occurs on public lands can be carried out in ways that also sustain fish, wildlife, water resources, and outdoor recreation opportunities. The Federation fights against inappropriate energy development and resource extraction in places that are crucial for wildlife, such as Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Tongass National Forest. We also work to make sure that as the nation expands renewable energy to address the climate crisis, that infrastructure is sited and operated in ways that sustain wildlife and minimize ecological damage. The National Wildlife Federation is also advocating for a national program to clean up orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells, which leak climate-altering methane gas, and has been pushing to reform the badly outdated 1872 Mining Law in order to strengthen protections for fish, wildlife and water resources on our public lands.

America’s national forests, which cover 193 million acres, provide an array of benefits to people and wildlife, from habitat and outdoor recreation, to drinking water sources, wood products, and natural carbon storage. Unfortunately, many of our national forests are in poor condition, a situation made worse by accelerating climate change, and more than 80 million acres of national forest lands are in urgent need of restoration. The National Wildlife is working with partners to accelerate the pace and scale of climate-informed and ecologically appropriate restoration on our national forests. We are promoting policies and practices designed to reduce growing wildfire risks as well as provide clean water, sustain healthy wildlife populations, and enhance the capacity of our public forests to store carbon and serve as a “natural climate solutions.”

Climate change poses a grave risk to our national parks, forests, and refuges, and to the species and ecosystems they support. To address the growing impact of a changing climate on our lands, waters, and wildlife, The National Wildlife Federation working with federal agency partners developed an innovative planning approach known as “climate-smart conservation.” Working with agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federation offers climate adaptation training to federal and state land managers, and has created tailored adaptation guides for resource managers in the National Park Service and Department of Defense.