Mission - To grow and support a national network of wilderness and public land stewardship organizations to provide ongoing stewardship for America's wilderness areas.

This has been a challenging 15th year for National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance and our public lands. Wilderness and our wildlands faced unprecedented attacks and fundamentally sound forest management programs have been disrupted. As a fallout to this upheaval, NWSA was told our federal funding was reduced to zero for the next couple of years. We had to, regretfully, eliminate the role of our highly valued Executive Director. While we may face a daunting journey, we are not deterred. In fact, we are invigorated to continue to develop programs that meet the needs of Alliance members, while building a stable future for NWSA and the dedicated organizations that steward our trails and wilderness areas.

To advance our mission, we are working on several things:

We asked Alliance organizations to identify challenges they face and in which they would need our support.  The needs identified can be grouped into five major areas, to which we are addressing the most urgent needs and developing services to support them:

• Networking and gatherings: Convene local organizations regionally and nationally, while helping members build meaningful connections.
• Shared resources: Create a centralized learning and resource library for member organizations.
• Education and communications: Provide timely information about public lands and wilderness issues, along with nationwide training opportunities such as regional Wilderness Stewardship Institutes.
• National perspective: Offer a balanced, national view of the many issues affecting wilderness areas and wildlands.
• Funding: Expand funding opportunities, particularly for trail work and educational programs.

There was also significant feedback to resurrect the NWSA newsletter. Folks missed the content and insights that only a national Wilderness organization can provide. So, Wildernews is back! We will continue to reach out to each of you to make sure we are providing information you need, as well as helping to promote your activities. And, our website will continue to be a resource for inofmration, including newsletters, webinars, and a YouTube channel. 

We will also continue to fund and support the Grow Wild Grant Program. This fund was established by a generous donation provided by The David Berolzheimer Foundation to honor life-long friend and wilderness champion, Elaine Dermody, who is a Founding Member of the NWSA. The proceeds from this endowment will be used to support the creation of wilderness stewardship groups or to support renewed programs for every wilderness area in the National Wilderness Preservation System. A couple of groups, Wild Alabama and Wyoming Wilderness Association, have effectively used these funds.

We are looking at relaunching the NWSA webinars, which for years have brought the wilderness community together for learning and educational sessions that advance wilderness stewardship.  These thoughtful and provocative sessions have built a steady audience and are retained for future learning opportunities on our website.

Funding is a critical issue and will be for a while. We cannot plan on consistent financial support from the federal agencies and have increased our outreach focus towards private funding. The NWSA journey takes a village of committed Wilderness advocates and stewards.  We have been humbled the past several months by new donations and with the renewing of memberships, with the common theme of “keep leading the charge.” So, please consider a personal donation, renewing your organizational membership or joining NWSA, by clicking Donate Now. Every dollar helps. And don’t hesitate to educate your friends and family on the work we all are doing to support our Wilderness areas!

As we look ahead, we firmly believe NWSA should be viewed and managed as it was at its founding: an Alliance of member organizations. Our role is to provide services at a national scale to wilderness stewardship organizations and to strengthen collaboration with the appropriate federal agencies. Ultimately, our success will be measured by the long-term health of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Our future is summarized very well by two participants’ comments during the Alliance listening sessions:

"I think we're in a good position. The agencies need us. The public needs us. The wilderness absolutely needs us. The relevance of NWSA is just as important now as it has ever been."

"Without groups like ours that are on this call, wilderness areas will not be monitored, maintained, or protected."

While we celebrate our 15th anniversary in a muted way, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the stewardship of our Wilderness areas. We invite you to join us in this ongoing journey to nurture the health and vitality of these lands, ensuring they can be cherished by current and future generations.

For the Wild,

Jeff Randa