This time last year, the Foundation was in start-up mode. Not only was I the Foundation’s first CEO, I was also the first employee. Armed with a strong strategic framework set forth by the inaugural Board of Directors, I began engaging with stakeholders, the BLM, and local communities to learn how the Foundation can support a collective vision for the public lands and waters the BLM manages for the American people. With a lean team and lots of passion for our public lands and waters, we set out to lay the groundwork for future success. Today, I can proudly say we achieved all that and more.
We are beginning 2025 staffed with incredible leaders who are connected and committed to advancing the Foundation’s mission: To foster strategic partnerships and generate private support to steward and connect more people and communities to the public lands and waters managed by the Bureau of Land Management, today and for generations to come.
We have an incredible Board of Directors leading the way and are now growing a National Leadership Council to broaden our reach, perspectives, and experiences. And we are moving dollars out the door to help boost – and close – the gaps in funding for important projects across the country.
My fellow mountain bikers and hikers know that before tackling the next trail, it’s important to appreciate the distance you’ve traveled. Before we get back on our metaphorical bikes and set our sights on the year ahead, it’s essential we recognize how far we’ve come – thanks to the support of so many – over the past 12 months:
- A strong leadership team was hired and onboarded – and they’re already getting to work. In addition to grantmaking, w e held 132 meetings introducing local communities, public lands and waters stakeholders, and funders to the Foundation. Now, we are ready to begin our 3-year strategic planning, further build our capacity, and continue program development.
- Changemakers across the country believe the BLM is crucial to their communities’ health, recreation, and economies. The Foundation hosted more than 45 meetings with BLM offices and met in-person with stakeholders in more than ten states . Whether meeting them in Fairbanks, AK; Sierra Vista, AZ; or Las Vegas, NV; one thing was consistent: Each stakeholder had a vision for how improving their public lands could better benefit their communities — and they need help achieving it. With these insights, we have developed an exciting (and growing) pipeline of recreation and restoration projects where partnerships and philanthropy can help address the BLM’s most pressing needs. Our Board of Directors reached full capacity at nine members, and we celebrated the election of our outstanding new Board Officers. We are now growing our National Leadership Council (NLC) to engage leaders who can provide expertise and broader geographic representation to the BLM’s multi-use mission.
- We launched Lands to Love®, an awareness campaign to help inspire all people to find their joy in America’s public lands and waters and to shine a spotlight on the BLM. The campaign is a great way to engage our leaders and the American people and introduce them to the BLM’s important work. Over the next year, the Foundation will spotlight outstanding locations managed by the BLM and seek partners to scale the campaign.
- The Foundation moved more than $3M toward on-the-ground projects in our first 12 fully operational months, including $600K in grants through the Lands to Love Catalyst Fund, which provides “last mile” matching funds to help unlock additional financing and gives critical resources to on-the-ground stewardship efforts. And a portion of the $11.1M in IRA funding from BLM we received went to two projects addressing drought resilience in the Colorado River Basin. We are now preparing to make our next Drought Resilience awards in March of 2025 and will make Lands to Love Catalyst Fund grants on a rolling basis.
- The Foundation is tackling one of the toughest challenges facing public lands: A lack of funding for indefinite land management. We often say “forever” is a long time. Historically, when the BLM received new parcels of land to oversee, its operating budget wouldn’t grow alongside its acreage. We’re fixing that. The Foundation is exploring strategies to unlock sustainable sources of funding to make up the difference and support ongoing operations and land management. Our recent work to establish the Lost Coast Redwoods Sustainable Stewardship Endowment is a great start and an example of a replicable strategy to fund “forever” land management.
- The Foundation began collaborating with PERC to explore opportunities for partnership and philanthropy around the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program, which you can read about in more detail in the report “From Range to Ranch.” The Foundation also hosted its first virtual roundtable, “Wild Horses and Burros: The Current State of On-Range Management and Adoption Strategies,” exploring the complexities and opportunities for healthy horse populations and healthy lands and waters. A recording will be available on the Foundation website.
- Last but not least, the Foundation connected with you. From community volunteers to industry leaders, we found passionate fans of public lands and waters across America. It’s thanks to your time, advocacy, and funding that we could take on these opportunities for impact. At the end of this letter, I’ve included photos that capture just a small number of the many folks and landscapes that benefit from all that you do.
So, what will 2025 bring?
The Foundation aims to set the biggest table possible to support the health of our public lands and waters. We welcome a range of perspectives to ensure our programmatic work supports the communities, local economies, and wildlife that depend on healthy public lands and waters. In the year ahead, expect to see an increased focus on fire prevention, recreation infrastructure, and wild horse and burro management innovations.
I’m energized as I anticipate all we can accomplish together. Thank you again for supporting the Foundation’s work and its mission. I welcome your engagement in all that is ahead. We could not do this without your dedication to America’s public lands and waters. Wishing you a happy, healthy new year.
With gratitude,
I Ling Thompson
Chief Executive Officer and President
The Foundation for America’s Public Lands
