A coalition of businesses has formed to lobby for protection of public lands, including Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument/NPS file, K. Stauffer

A coalition of more than five dozen businesses and organizations from Arkansas to Washington state has formed to defend public lands against mining, energy development, and other "types of exploration and development."

In a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum the group, Brands For Public Lands, points out that public lands fuel a $1.2 trillion outdoor industry and conserve nature.

"[W]e strongly urge the Trump administration and Secretary Burgum to adhere to the long-established precedent of soliciting and considering public input before making any significant decisions about the management of our federal public lands. Of particular concern are Executive and Secretarial Orders around the rollback of protections on key landscapes such as national monuments, mineral withdrawals on iconic landscapes, and staffing and resourcing to effectively manage our public lands and waters," reads a section of the letter.

One of the secretarial orders from Burgum claimed that the United States has an "inadequate energy supply" and needs to "protect against this active threat to the national and economic security of the American people." As a result, the secretary said the department "will immediately identify all emergency and legal authorities available to facilitate the identification, permitting, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, distribution, exporting and generation of domestic energy resources and critical minerals."

Within the orders the secretary directed his assistant secretaries to "review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands," language conservation groups fear is aimed at redrawing borders of national monuments.

"Right now, America’s public lands are at risk of being sold, defunded, or developed, and businesses are speaking up," said a press release announcing the Brands For Public Lands coalition. "Over 60 businesses have joined together to send a powerful message: protecting our public lands is critical to individuals, communities and businesses across the country. The Conservation Alliance is taking a leadership role in the formation and organization of the new business coalition, Brands for Public Lands, and partnering with other nonprofits and businesses alike in order to build their movement of businesses defending public lands."

The group's formation trails by two weeks a letter from 300 elected officials from Colorado to California urging Burgum and members of Congress to protect public lands from being sold off, sullied by energy development or mining, climate-change impacts, and efforts to water down the Antiquities Act. 

"The businesses who have joined Brands for Public Lands know that our nation’s natural resources are invaluable, not for extracting what lies deep beneath their surface, but for the vitality they provide to so many of us in their protected state," said Paul Hendricks, executive director of The Conservation Alliance. "Threats to public lands are threats to the natural and cultural resources they protect, the millions of jobs and thousands of businesses they support, and the myriad communities they sustain.”

The new group stressed the economic impact of public lands to the nation's economy and gross domestic production, citing Bureau of Land Managment data that shows there were 82 million visits to BLM-managed public lands during fiscal 2023 that generated more than $10 billion worth of economic activity in and around these landscapes.

Brands for Public Lands comprises companies headquartered in 17 states representing varying industries and interests, from outdoor apparel and gear, to media, retailers, and tourism. Overall, the group represents more than 48,000 employees and more than $17.5 billion in revenue.

Working to maximize their impact in conserving federally managed lands and waters, Brands for Public Lands’ core areas of focus will include: stopping the wholesale sell off of public lands; defending against threats to national monuments; and protecting iconic landscapes, Wilderness areas, and more, from industrial extraction. Each company has committed to actions such as elevating any specific attacks related to these issues to their customers, leveraging their brand names to influence policymakers, or participating in direct lobbying efforts.

In addition to the letter sent Wednesday to the Interior secretary, the group sent another letter to Congressional leaders urging them not to move forward with large-scale public lands sell-offs to pay down the national debt or to pay for tax cuts. 

“Our public lands are more than assets on a balance sheet," said Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert. "They are where we connect with nature and they serve as economic drivers for local communities, the $1.2 trillion outdoor industry and the 5 million people who work within it. Patagonia stands with the dozens of like minded businesses and organizations protecting public lands before they're lost forever.”