Hikers overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. Photo by Will Fenwick.

National Public Lands Day is celebrated across the country on the fourth Saturday in September, falling on September 26th this year. Every year, volunteers and environmental activists come together to protect, restore, and enjoy all kinds of public lands: national parks, forests, monuments, wildlife refuges, grasslands, marine sanctuaries, lakes, and state, county, and city parks. On this day, admission to all national parks is free to encourage volunteerism and outdoor recreation. You can join activities like nature walks, clean-ups, and kayaking. From camping along the Chesapeake Bay to trails and the beaches of Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks, you can create memorable outdoor adventures.

Virginia’s outdoors is a source of local pride and a destination for outdoor lovers across the country. Virginians and visitors alike are fortunate to have access to a wide range of public lands across the state, from small local parks to large national forests. But even our local treasures need support, and polling shows that eight in ten Virginians support dedicated funds of at least $300 million/year to conservation programs. 

Public lands help keep Virginians healthy, provide environmental benefits like clean water, support the growing outdoor recreation industry and jobs, and protect critical natural resources for future generations. Public lands safeguard the water supply, increase ecosystem productivity for many of our major rivers, and reduce coastal storm damage. Also, public lands provide habitat for threatened and endangered species.

In 2024, Virginia State Parks generated an estimated $382.3 million in total economic impact and $12.29, on average, for every $1 of general tax revenue spent. Public lands are vital to driving the outdoor economy in Virginia. Maintenance and management investments are essential for determining whether parks and other public lands live up to their full environmental, experiential, and economic potential. The growing state park maintenance backlog has led to an inefficient and costly “budgeting by emergency” system that limits the system’s potential to meet visitor demand and generate revenue.

Partnerships between communities and government are an actionable way to protect public lands. Multiple federal and state government programs and departments already have proven track records, but they lack the capacity to meet today’s needs. Increased funding would strengthen the programs designed to protect vulnerable natural lands and waters, drinking water resources, and historic and cultural sites.

Dedicated funding for the existing programs and agencies outlined below will enable Virginia’s public lands and natural resource agencies to invest in staff, maintenance, operations, and land acquisitions to make them accessible, inclusive, and desirable destinations. For full details on conservation funding programs, see the Land & Wildlife Conservation chapter of Our 2027 Common Agenda.

A state-funded competitive grant program run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to protect farmland, forestland, natural areas, open space and parks, and areas of historic and cultural importance in Virginia. State agencies, localities, non-profits, and tribes are eligible to apply for funding.

A federal program that provides competitive grants to increase public access to and protection for federal public lands and waters—including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and recreation areas. It also provides matching grants to states and local communities for the acquisition and development of public parks and other outdoor recreation sites.

A grant program run by Virginia Outdoors Foundation that provides income-based cost-share assistance grants to landowners placing their land under a conservation easement and provides competitive matching grants to permanently protect, through acquisition or easement, open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, or water quality. These grants prioritize projects that enhance public access to the outdoors.

A competitive grant program administered by the Virginia Outdoor Foundation that provides funding to localities and community organizations for projects that increase access to the outdoors in Virginia’s communities, especially those that are underserved. This program is currently suspended due to lack of funding.

The agency responsible for the management of inland fisheries, wildlife, and recreational boating for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In partnership with the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia, they host the Virginia Wildlife Grant Program which provides funding to organizations with a common mission of connecting people to the outdoors and supports activities such as archery, boating/paddling, fishing, hunting/recreational shooting, and wildlife viewing.

The federal government has proposed eliminating or selling our public lands for profit, developing over some of our oldest and dearest wild areas. Send a message to Congress through the Nature Conservancy’s action alert to tell your elected leaders that you oppose selling off federally owned public conservation lands for non-conservation uses.