Programs and Funding for Conservation
What are states doing?
In 1990, Arizona created the Heritage Fund, a conservation program approved by voters and funded by lottery revenues. However, this fund has been repeatedly raided and amended by the state legislature—with any reduced funding the program does get, its effectiveness is limited and disregards the will of the voters who approved the program.
Colorado’s Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) program, established by a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1992, is funded by revenues from the Colorado Lottery. In 2021, Colorado also passed SB21-249 which implemented a new “Keep Colorado Wild” pass to increase revenue for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In 2024, the state passed SB24–230 Oil and Gas Production Fees which places new fees on oil and gas production and directs revenues to land, wildlife, and habitat conservation and restoration, as well as clean transit projects.
To improve wildlife habitat connectivity, in 2019 Governor Jared Polis signed Executive Order D 2019-011 Conserving Colorado’s Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors, which directed state agencies to develop a report on big game migration patterns and to identify legislative, regulatory, and policy opportunities to better conserve big game habitat and migration corridors.
Idaho has made encouraging one-time investments, most recently in 2024 with budget line items for state parks and wildlife crossings. In 2023, Idaho also created an Outdoor Recreation Fund and an advisory council, with a one-time investment of $5 million in 2023 followed by another one-time investment of $5 million in 2024. While this is an outdoor recreation infrastructure fund and not a land conservation program, it is encouraging to see Idaho making investments in outdoor recreation and access. Other than this, the state does not have a specific land conservation program comparable to those in other Western states or a dedicated funding source for conservation. The state has constructed some wildlife crossing structures, but lacks a cohesive statewide habitat connectivity initiative despite 89 percent of voters supporting connectivity projects.
In 2020 Montana voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize and tax recreational marijuana and direct just under 50 percent of those tax revenues to a specific set of conservation programs. Ever since, Montana’s governor and state lawmakers have worked to direct those funds to other purposes. In 2021 the state legislature passed HB 701 which reduced the amount of revenue that would be directed to conservation programs compared to the 2020 ballot initiative. In 2023 the state legislature passed SB 442, which would have improved the percentage of marijuana tax revenues directed to conservation programs, but Governor Greg Gianforte vetoed the bill. This leaves the HB 701 revenue allocation percentages in place, with a lower allocation to conservation than what voters supported in 2020. The state does continue to make conservation investments through its Habitat Montana program, which is funded by non-resident hunting license fees. Montana also has an optional license plate fee which supports state parks.
In 2002, Nevada passed the Conservation Bond Program (often referred to as “Question 1” for its number on the ballot that year) which authorized $200 million in general obligation bonds to fund a variety of conservation programs. This program was renewed in 2019 with the passage of AB84 and rebranded as Conserve Nevada. The renewal authorizes more than $217 million in general obligation bonds for a number of specified conservation purposes.
To improve wildlife habitat connectivity, in 2021 then-Governor Steve Sisolak signed Executive Order 2021-018 Creating the Nevada Habitat Conservation Framework. This order directed state agencies to collaborate on the development of a Nevada Habitat Conservation Framework, a Sagebrush Habitat Plan, and a Nevada Habitat Connectivity Plan.
In 2023, New Mexico created the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund and has followed up with an investment of $350 million into the fund. New Mexico has also enacted policies to improve wildlife habitat connectivity. In 2019, the state passed SB 228 Wildlife Corridors Act directing state agencies to develop a Wildlife Corridors Action Plan, which was released in 2022.
Utah’s LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund uses money appropriated by the legislature to purchase conservation easements on private agricultural property. Beginning in 2024, this program is slated to receive an ongoing annual appropriation of $1 million from the state legislature. Utah is also making meaningful investments in wildlife crossings, dedicating $20 million in 2023 to build on the work of the state’s Wildlife Migration Initiative, established in 2017 to document and identify migratory habitat and corridors.
Wyoming’s Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust was established by the state legislature in 2005 to provide ongoing dedicated funding for wildlife habitat and natural resource conservation. While it is a dedicated funding source, funding levels are not keeping up with demand, according to the program’s own annual report. On wildlife connectivity, Governor Mark Gordon signed Executive Order 2020-1 Wyoming Mule Deer and Antelope Migration Corridor Protection which officially designated three migration corridors and laid out a process for identifying and designating other corridors in the future. Unfortunately, this policy has not been used to its fullest extent. Since this executive order was issued, the state has only “identified” one additional corridor, stopping short of “designating” it.
Why is this important?
Establishing a conservation program is an important first step, but for a program to have a lasting impact for the state it must have a reliable, dedicated revenue source. This is especially important for pursuing federal funding such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which requires the state to provide non-federal matching funds. Some Western states have left federal funding for conservation and recreation on the table for years because of a lack of investment in matching funds.
Effective conservation helps connect protected areas to each other to preserve seasonal migration routes and other movement opportunities for wildlife and pollinators. Policies and programs that aim to preserve habitat connectivity and that support this aim with funding are key to states’ long-term conservation success.
Public Lands Commemoration
What are states doing?
In 2019, the Arizona state legislature passed HB 2271, which established Arizona’s Public Lands Day on the first Saturday in April each year and declared that “Arizona’s public lands enrich the state’s quality of life.” In 2024, the Arizona state legislature passed a suite of anti-public lands resolutions.
Colorado was the first state to create its own Public Lands Day with the 2016 passage of SB 16-021, which established the third Saturday in May each year as the state’s Public Lands Day. In recent years, the state legislature has also expressed support for protective public land designations within its borders. For example, in 2024 the legislature passed HJR24–1012 Tenth Mountain Division, a bipartisan resolution expressing the legislature’s appreciation for the new Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, which President Joe Biden designated in October 2022.
While Idaho Governor Brad Little made a one-time declaration of May 2, 2019 as Idaho Public Lands Day, the Idaho state legislature has not passed any similar legislation and the state does not have an annual day of recognition.
In 2024 the Idaho state legislature passed a non-binding memorial expressing opposition to the Bureau of Land Management’s Conservation and Landscape Health Rule. Idaho has also joined a lawsuit challenging the final rule.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte proclaimed September 25, 2021 to be Hunting and Fishing Day and Public Lands Day in Montana, but the state does not have an annual day of recognition. A 2017 bill to establish an annual public lands day in Montana died in committee.
Montana’s state legislature did not have a session in 2024, but in October 2024 Governor Greg Gianforte sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging them to refrain from exercising executive authority to protect public lands in the state and threatening opposition and litigation if new protections are announced. Montana has also joined a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s Conservation and Landscape Health Rule.
In 2017 Nevada passed SB 413, establishing Nevada’s Public Lands Day on the last Saturday in September each year. The state legislature has also expressed support for protection of national public lands in the state, including in 2021 with AJR3 which expressed support for Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, designated by President Biden in 2023.
Utah does not recognize a state public lands day, though it has designated the first week in May as “State Water Week,” to recognize the importance of water conservation, since 2007.
The Utah state legislature has passed a number of bills opposing federal public land protection and management, and the state has filed a lawsuit attempting to seize national public lands within the state’s borders.
In 2019, the Wyoming state legislature passed HB 99, establishing Public Lands Day on the last Saturday in September.
Wyoming has devoted substantial state resources to opposing the BLM’s proposed Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, due in part to the state’s objection to conservation measures included in the plan.
Why is this important?
At the federal level, National Public Lands Day was established in 1994 and is celebrated annually in September with free access to many federally-managed public lands as well as volunteering opportunities and celebratory events across the country. Some states have commemorated the importance of public lands with similar state-level days recognizing the importance and benefits of public lands within their borders and encouraging volunteer land stewardship.
States vary in their stance on protective designations of national public lands within their borders. Legislatures often pass resolutions or memorials that urge Congress to take certain actions or that express support or disapproval for recent actions. While not legally binding, these resolutions or memorials are one way for states to announce pro- or anti-public land conservation positions.
30x30
What are states doing?
Arizona’s state lawmakers passed a number of anti-public lands resolutions opposing the 30×30 goal in the 2024 legislative session, including HCM2005, which demands that the federal government return 30 percent of federally-managed public lands to states by 2030.
Colorado, often a conservation leader, has not yet endorsed the 30×30 concept or set its own goal. Rather, the state has launched a process to develop “Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy” intended to provide “‘North Star’ goals for our outdoors.” While the state has conserved new lands in recent years, including new state parks and state wildlife areas, these cannot be celebrated as counting towards a goal the state has not formally set.
Idaho has expressed objections to the 30×30 effort while simultaneously claiming that Idaho has already achieved the goal. In testimony before the House Subcommittee on National Forests, Parks, and Public Lands in 2021, Governor Brad Little argued for the need to keep lands in Idaho as “working lands” open to multiple uses, rather than protected. An Idaho state legislative interim committee presentation raises similar objections, while also arguing that existing designations are already sufficient to meet the goal.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte announced in June 2022 that Montana “declines to participate” in the 30×30 effort.
In 2021, the Nevada state legislature passed AJR3, which urged President Biden, Congress, and state and local agencies to work cooperatively to achieve the 30×30 goal. While this resolution is not legally binding, it made Nevada’s state legislature the first to formally endorse the 30×30 land conservation effort. Nevada has also advanced new state-level land protections, including the creation of two new state parks in recent years.
In 2021, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Executive Order 2021-052 adopting the 30×30 goal and directing state agencies to use existing authorities to achieve it. The executive order creates a “30 by 30 Committee” and includes a requirement that the committee report annually on its progress. According to the most recent report, more than 400,000 acres in New Mexico have been put under conservation easements, and the state also acquired over 54,000 acres to expand the Marquez Wildlife Management Area in 2022.
Utah has stated its opposition to the 30×30 initiative in both a November 2021 letter from Governor Spencer Cox to President Biden and in a legislative resolution, SCR 2, passed in the 2022 session.
Wyoming passed legislation in 2022 expressing the state’s opposition to the 30×30 goal, limiting the use of state funds for projects involving conservation easements and ordering all state agencies to “take all reasonable steps necessary to resist and prevent” federal efforts towards the 30×30 goal.
Why is this important?
The global scientific community has adopted a goal of conserving 50 percent of lands and waters by 2050, with the interim goal of 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, in order to protect 80 percent of species from extinction and prevent catastrophic collapse of biodiversity upon which all life depends—including humans. The Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity in December 2022, adopts these targets, though the United States is not a party to this convention.
At the federal level, in January 2021 President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, which established the national goal of protecting 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030 through the America the Beautiful initiative. The Biden administration has since committed hundreds of millions of dollars towards a wide variety of programs that will help protect, connect, and restore America’s lands and waters.
Protecting and Expanding Equitable Access and Recreation Opportunities
What are states doing?
Arizona allows recreational access to state trust lands that are not leased for agriculture, mining, commercial, or military purposes. Users must hold a valid hunting or fishing license or purchase a one-year recreational permit for $15. Camping is allowed but limited to 14 days over the course of the year. The State Land Department maintains an interactive map of state trust lands with information about access and leases.
Arizona is one of the most difficult states for recreational stream access. The Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission is tasked with determining which streams met the definition of navigability at the time that Arizona became a state (1912). So far, only the Colorado River has been determined to be navigable. This protects the right to float on the Colorado River where it flows over private land but not to access the stream bed or banks for wading, portaging, or other purposes.
Arizona has not yet created an office of outdoor recreation or an outdoor equity fund.
Out of Colorado’s nearly 3 million acres of state trust lands, almost 1 million are open to access with a valid hunting or fishing license under an agreement between the State Land Board and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Both the State Land Board and Colorado Parks and Wildlife maintain online maps that show access and camping information as well as data on other leases of state trust lands. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also leases one of its state parks, State Forest State Park, from the State Land Board.
Stream access in Colorado is restrictive. A 1979 state supreme court ruling held that the public did not even have the right to float on public water that flows over private property, though a later state attorney general opinion attempted to clarify that the public could float on public water over private property as long as they do not touch the stream bed. A 2023 state supreme court ruling declined to establish public access to the stream beds of navigable streams, effectively maintaining the status quo while making it more difficult to challenge in the future.
Colorado’s office of outdoor recreation was established by then-Governor John Hickenlooper in 2015 through a line item in the budget for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The office was later codified with the passage of HB21-1223 in the 2021 legislative session. Also in 2021, Colorado created an outdoor equity grant program with the passage of HB21-1318.
Idaho’s 2.3 million acres of endowment lands are generally open for public recreational use, including camping for up to 14 consecutive days. The state’s Department of Lands maintains an interactive map showing publicly-accessible endowment lands.
Idaho law protects stream access for “all recreational purposes” up to the ordinary high water mark. Recreationists are also allowed to portage around artificial barriers, even on private land, though they are required to do so in the least intrusive manner possible.
Idaho has not yet created an office of outdoor recreation or an outdoor equity fund.
In Montana, recreational access to state trust land is generally allowed with the purchase of an annual $8 conservation license. Camping is allowed only within 200 feet of the access point and is limited to two days for leased land and 15 days for unleased land. The state also maintains an online map showing trust land public access.
Montana law protects access to all streams capable of recreational use, regardless of land ownership, up to the ordinary high water mark of the stream. Recreationists are also allowed to portage around artificial barriers, even on private land, though they are required to do so in the least intrusive manner possible.
Montana created an Office of Outdoor Recreation in 2017 but has since let funding for the office lapse, effectively canceling the program.
Nevada has sold most of its state trust lands; with only 3,000 acres of state trust lands remaining, the state has not developed a recreation or hunting access program for them.
Nevada’s stream access protections remain unclear, mainly because neither the legislature nor the courts have addressed it other than to adopt the definition of “navigability” used by the federal government and many other states in the West. This protects the right to float on navigable waters but leaves wading and portaging unclear.
Nevada created a Division of Outdoor Recreation within the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) with the passage of AB 486 in 2019. That same year, the legislature also passed AB 331, which created the Outdoor Education and Recreation Grant Program within DCNR.
In New Mexico, for a $35 fee users may purchase an annual recreational access permit that allows recreation access to state trust lands that are not leased for oil and gas drilling or mining. The State Land Office and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish also entered into an easement agreement that grants hunting access to holders of valid state hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses. The State Land Office also developed a camping policy to increase camping access for hunters, anglers, and trappers. Finally, the State Land Office maintains an interactive map showing access, camping, and other data about state trust lands to support public recreational access.
A 2022 New Mexico state supreme court decision affirmed the public’s right to access stream beds of navigable waters, in a victory for stream access advocates. Landowners may still restrict access across their property, and recreationists must access the water from a point that is legally open to the public.
New Mexico was the first state to establish an outdoor equity fund, which is supported by funding from the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund (described above). The state also created an Outdoor Recreation Division within the Economic Development Department. Both the outdoor equity fund and the Outdoor Recreation Division were created with the passage of SB 462 in the 2019 session.
Utah’s 3.4 million acres of trust lands are generally open to public recreation, including camping, though there are a number of rules guiding a variety of activities. The Trust Land Administration (formerly SITLA) and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources also renewed an agreement that allows access to trust lands for hunting, fishing, or wildlife viewing.
Utah’s stream access laws protect the public’s right to float and portage but recreationists may not wade, access the stream bank, or drop anchors without permission. Recreationists that float on a stream that flows over private property need to have accessed it from a point that is legally open to the public.
Utah was the first state to establish an Office of Outdoor Recreation in 2013, inspiring many other states in the West and around the country to establish similar offices. The office also administers an Outdoor Recreation Grant program.
Wyoming allows recreational access on its 3.6 million acres of state trust lands except for cultivated croplands, though no camping is permitted. The Office of State Lands and Investments maintains an interactive map showing public access and lease information.
Wyoming protects the right to float on navigable streams and the right to portage around artificial barriers, but access to the streambed and banks is not protected, and recreationists must have permission from the landowner to wade, access the stream bank, or drop anchors. Similarly, private landowners can restrict access to streams that flow over their property. Recreationists that float on a stream that flows over private property need to have accessed it from a point that is legally open to the public.
Wyoming’s Outdoor Recreation Task Force, convened by then-Governor Matt Mead, made several recommendations including the establishment of an outdoor recreation office, which Mead created within Wyoming’s State Parks and Cultural Resources Department.
Why is this important?
States are generally required to manage state trust lands in order to maximize revenue for beneficiaries, which are usually public schools and a small number of other state institutions. In many cases, states meet this requirement by leasing state trust lands for resource development such as oil and gas drilling or renewable energy production, as well as by selling them. Some states allow varying levels of recreational access on some state trust lands.
Recreational access to rivers and streams is complicated and varies across states, encompassing the navigability of the water, whether a person wants to wade into versus float on the water, and whether the stream bank may be used to reach the water. Just as landowners can try to prevent access to public lands that are surrounded by private lands, in some states landowners can also try to prevent access to public water that flows over private land.
Some states have taken steps to improve equitable access to public lands and outdoor recreation opportunities by creating outdoor equity funds that are charged with investing in programming that expands access, especially for historically disadvantaged communities. Many states have established an office of outdoor recreation responsible for developing the state’s outdoor recreation industry, including by advocating for the protection and stewardship of public lands and for expanding access to equitable, safe, and welcoming outdoor recreation experiences for all.
Final Scores
