An Open Letter to the Conservation Movement

We love the forests, farms, rivers, open spaces, and wild places that shape our country. And we believe too much is at stake to be quiet about where the conservation movement goes from here.

The movement has accomplished extraordinary things. But this moment calls for courage to challenge old assumptions, have harder conversations, and imagine a movement capable of meeting the scale of what’s ahead.

That’s why we’re sharing this letter in newspapers across the country. Not because we have all the answers, but because we believe the conversation matters. Conservation can be a force that brings people together around what we all want — strong communities, a thriving economy, and a country where the places that sustain us aren’t sacrificed in the name of progress.

Conservation needs to learn to say ‘yes’

A message to our movement

Every hour, we lose more than 40 acres of farmland and ranchland. Every day, open space twice the size of Central Park disappears. Every year, another million acres of forest are lost. And once these lands are gone, they’re gone forever.

And now, trillions of dollars for desperately needed infrastructure will create one of the largest periods of building in American history.

Without a clear vision, this new infrastructure will accelerate the loss of wild and working lands that people and wildlife depend on. Land we can’t afford to lose.

So, how do we build the infrastructure we need while protecing the natural systems we depend on?

The environmental movement deserves enormous credit for solving many of the challenges of the last century; reducing pollution, protecting iconic landscapes and forcing industry to account for environmental harm. But we did it by saying “no” — through legislation, regulation, and litigation. “No” is a powerful tool to protect hard-fought conservation wins. But it can’t be the only tool in our toolbox.

If we’re to address climate change, housing needs, water scarcity, and rural economic development, we need to build. And when we build, we have an opportunity to link new infrastructure with conservation outcomes, securing more for our country than we’d ever achieve by only saying “no.” Built infrastructure and natural infrastructure stop being opponents and instead become partners. This is what it means to find the “yes.”

Wetlands protect against floods, storm surge, and extreme weather. Forests store carbon, filter drinking water, and extend the life of reservoirs. Farms provide fresh, local, and sustainable food. Urban tree canopies keep cities livable through a heat wave. These natural systems are necessities, not amenities. They do the work infrastructure cannot.

We can’t solve today’s biggest challenges by only saying “no.”

A prosperous, healthy, and resilient future requires an environmental movement committed to both building what our country urgently needs and protecting what cannot be replaced.

The challenges ahead are too large and too complex for yesterday’s playbook. We need a movement as committed to building as it is to blocking.

It’s time to find the “yes.” For all of us.

Larry Selzer
President & CEO

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