Americans Finally Demand a New Vision for Their Common Trust

If there is one force that will shape public lands in 2026, it is this: a rising public insistence that the way we manage America’s lands is no longer acceptable, along with a growing hunger to imagine something better. 

For generations, Americans have found freedom outdoors. Freedom to hunt and fish, to roam and to explore. Freedom to gather with family and reconnect with the natural world, touching our humanity. Our forests, parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and a sense of belonging that transcends politics. They cover a third of our country and are foundational to our identity. But today, that foundation is cracking as leaders beholden to corporate interests work to sell them off.  

Meanwhile, across the country, people are noticing the consequences of a system built for another era. Aging laws, outdated structures and lack of investments in our public lands are colliding with modern demands: wildfires behaving differently, recreation surging far beyond current budgetary support, and landscapes turning brittle from a changing climate.  

Current leaders in Washington aren’t fixing these problems, they are accelerating them by dismantling the very agencies meant to safeguard our lands: fewer rangers on the ground, tables tipped to corporate interests that threaten access, and rushed decisions made without meaningful public voice. 

Most people don’t track policy changes in Washington. But they know when something is off. They know when a trail that should be open is closed, when a recreation area feels unkempt, when wildlife they once relied on is suddenly scarce. They know when their freedom feels more conditional than it used to. 

And in 2026, I believe that quiet frustration will ignite a profound shift. 

We are living through a kind of megafire—fast-moving, destabilizing and capable of reshaping the entire public lands landscape. But anyone who has walked through a burn scar understands something important: when the canopy opens, light reaches places it hasn’t touched in decades. New growth becomes possible. 

This is the moment we’re entering. 

People recognize that we cannot solve 21st-century challenges with outdated approaches and tools. They are asking deeper questions about what public lands should provide, and for whom. Not just access for the few, but access for all. Not just scenery, but healthy forests and cold, clean waters. Not just benefits for today, but a legacy for those who come after us. 

I believe 2026 will be the year when these questions break into the mainstream, when Americans call for a fundamentally more modern, more capable vision for our public lands, our common ground. 

And that demand will drive something equally important: an opportunity. An opportunity for the public, Tribes, local leaders, industry, conservationists and scientists to sit at a wider table. To take risks, float bold ideas and engage in the kind of constructive dialogue and creative problem-solving that a healthy democracy and healthy landscapes require. And deserve.  

The fire is still raging, but it will pass and there will be an opening in the clearing. The opportunity is real. In 2026, Americans will begin to seize it.