BlueRibbon Coalition’s 2025 Review
We Belong Here
This year has felt different. Not easier — but clearer.
For years we fought simply to stop the bleeding: slow the closures, delay the land grabs, defend the last remaining access. But this year, something shifted. For the first time in a long time, the fortress of regulations that guaranteed closure after closure has begun to crack.
We’re no longer clinging to the edge trying to hold back the tide. We’re fighting to take our land back.
And we need your help now more than ever. The doors that agencies kept shut for years are finally open. That window will not stay open long — and the work that positions us for early 2026 is happening right now.
BRC staff Simone Griffin, Policy Director, & Bella Eldridge, Attorney, with Karen Budd-Falen, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior
This Will Be One of BRC’s Most Successful Years in Decades
After last year’s election, we knew we had to play a leading role in reversing years of onerous regulations used to restrict access to public lands. We immediately planned a trip to Washington to ensure the new Administration understood our priorities.
We identified Executive Orders that needed to be rescinded, regulations used to close access, and legislative changes needed to restore balance. We also provided a summary of over 300 administrative actions from the previous Administration that restricted access to 190 million acres.
2025 WRAPPED
STILL FIGHTING FOR
18,133
OFF-ROAD MILES
160,313,355
ACRES
849
E-BIKE MILES
Because of that work — and the advocacy of our members and legal team — real change is happening:
- Seven of the 26 Executive Orders we identified have already been rescinded, including the 30×30 initiative.
- The Roadless Rule, which locks up 59 million acres and has been a core issue for BRC since 2001, is now under review for rollback.
- The BLM’s Public Lands Rule — a backdoor leasing system that would have allowed anti-access groups to control 245 million acres — is being rescinded.
- Radical travel plans like Moab are being revisited.
- Steps are underway to reverse abusive National Monument expansions affecting millions of acres.
We also pushed regulatory reform petitions, sent NPS improvement recommendations, fought for access from Washington to South Carolina, and filed or joined multiple lawsuits — including challenges to the Chuckwalla National Monument and the closures of over 1,200 miles of trails in the San Rafael Swell and Henry Mountains.
We continue to wait on the 10th Circuit ruling in our Bears Ears and Grand Staircase challenge — a slow process, but a vital one.
The Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act was reintroduced, offering a landmark opportunity to secure motorized access protections in federal law.
Year-End Gifts Fuel Our Most Critical Work
January–May is our most intense period for legal briefs, agency comments, federal meetings, coalition work, and strategic planning. Year-end revenue pays for all of that. And in an election year, we must complete the bulk of our work by August.
The next 12–15 months will determine what public land access looks like for years. A year-end gift isn’t just a tax deduction — it’s what keeps us on offense.
Why We Need Your Support Before December 31
Your tax-deductible gift will:
- Strengthen our Moab lawsuit
- Advance our Chuckwalla challenge
- Support our Bears Ears/Grand Staircase case
- Fuel efforts to overturn the Public Lands Rule and Roadless Rule
- Enable new legal actions on nationally significant regulations
- Build the legal team required to seize this moment
- Protect millions of acres from being locked up
- Expand our reach on Capitol Hill as policies shift
- Keep pressure on agencies reversing anti-access rules
We are no longer in a purely defensive posture. Our team expanded because the fight demanded it — and they are working nights and weekends to ensure we don’t squander this rare moment for restoration.
We are on the cusp of the greatest reopening of public lands access in decades — if we have the resources.
This Is Our Moment — Because We Belong on Our Public Lands
For years we have been preparing for a moment like this — building legal expertise, national credibility, and a network capable of standing tall when our lands and freedoms are on the line.
This is that moment.
We belong here — on these trails, in these canyons, in these courtrooms, and in the fight for every mile of access. But we cannot do it without you.
Please make your most generous year-end gift today to help expand the BRC Legal Center and secure the future of public access.
With deepest gratitude,
– BlueRibbon Coalition
Dive deeper into our most impactful legal actions this year.
12 Days of Legal Updates: Rebalancing Public Land Restrictions for Access
Earlier this year, we shared an infographic which illustrated how unbalanced public land restrictions have become. There are 640 million acres of public lands, and when you add...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Save Moab
For decades, Moab’s trail system provided access to world-class riding, camping, and exploration across southeastern Utah. In recent years, sweeping land management decisions...
12 Days of Legal Updates: USFS Objection Resolution Wins
Just as important as the outcomes of our work is how they are achieved. As our 12 Days of Legal Updates have shown, BRC is prepared to fight for access in court. Thus, it can...
SUPPORT OUR LEGAL CENTER
Our legal work is possible because of individual members and supporters like you. With your support, we were able to hire our first full-time attorney last year—leading to the most impactful period of legal success in our organization’s history. Your backing has empowered us to win critical battles for public access, but there’s more to challenge and anti-access groups continue to file lawsuits at an unprecedented rate. Continued support ensures we have the legal strength to defend our rights and keep our public lands open.