Introducing the Trust’s new President: Anders Reynolds

January 9, 2026-

As many of you know, Brad Borst is stepping down after nine years at the helm of The Wilderness Land Trust. Over the past several months, our board of directors has undertaken a national search for our next leader to carry forward the Trust’s mission.

We are thrilled to announce that Anders Reynolds will be joining the Trust as President on January 15th! Originally from Wynne, Arkansas, Anders attended Rhodes College and Johns Hopkins University. For the majority of his career, he’s engaged federal lawmakers on public land policy, most recently with the Southern Environmental Law Center and Pew Charitable Trusts. In those roles, he’s proud to have played a part in achieving durable wilderness protection for landscapes in Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, and Southern Utah. His work has included building resilient coalitions of diverse stakeholders, offering policy expertise to federal decision-makers, and amplifying the passion of local advocates who love their big backyards just the way they are. He has extensive federal and state campaign experience and previously worked on Capitol Hill. He has also served as Board Chair of both the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards and the Virginia Wilderness Committee. In his free time, Anders is an avid runner, a crossword completist, a pizza enthusiast, and the proud companion of two dumpster dogs, Crash and Cora.

As the Trust continues to navigate uncertainty in the national wilderness conservation landscape, Anders’ expertise in engaging local communities and federal decision-makers alike will be invaluable. “We are thrilled to welcome Anders as our next President. His passion for wilderness is palpable, and his leadership will propel The Wilderness Land Trust’s mission forward at a pivotal moment. A natural problem solver, Anders understands the power of partnerships in addressing complex challenges, and his vision will help advance a seamless wilderness system that honors the spirit and intent of the original Wilderness Act” says Sarah Chase Shaw, board chair.

Vice President and Senior Land Specialist Aimee Rutledge adds, “The staff are all very excited about Anders joining the Trust. He brings deep experience with wilderness, intelligence, and team-building skills to navigate challenges, develop opportunities, and deepen the Trust’s impact.”

Brad will stay on through the end of January to work with Anders and the staff to ensure a successful transition. “The Wilderness Land Trust’s reputation precedes it, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining this hard-working staff and board in their efforts to protect wild places before they’re lost,” says Anders.  “From ensuring recreation access to protecting watersheds, wilderness is the gold standard protection for the public lands that we all share. Making whole those shared landscapes only happens when an organization is willing to plan smartly, step in early, and work tenaciously. That’s the model The Wilderness Land Trust has refined over decades, and it’s the work I’m excited to lead. I look forward to connecting with you, our partners and supporters, in the coming weeks and months.” You can reach Anders at Anders@wildernesslandtrust.org

Private inholdings protected in Maroon Bells-Snowmass and Weminuche Wilderness Areas, a win for recreationists

December 3, 2025-

The Wilderness Land Trust has recently protected three private properties within Colorado wilderness: the 20-acre Busher Claim in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, the 30-acre Needle Creek property, and the 31-acre Great Western Lode in the Weminuche Wilderness

The properties were previously privately owned, and at risk of development. Nationwide there are over 275,000 acres of private property, known as inholdings, within designated wilderness areas. Unlike the surrounding wilderness, they are not protected and can be developed with homes, resorts, timber, and mining operations. The Wilderness Land Trust works with willing sellers to purchase these properties and protect them to benefit public access, wildlife habitat, and healthy watersheds.

The Busher Claim, which the Trust recently purchased, sits on the slopes above the popular hiking destination of Cumberland Basin, below Pearl Mountain and Castle Peak. Its fragile high alpine ecosystem provides important wildlife habitat as well as pristine viewsheds for recreationists. Because it is located near the Pearl Pass Road, an OHV route from Aspen to Crested Butte, the property was at a higher risk of development. It has now been protected from development thanks to the generous support of Kim Kanas of Longmont, Colorado. With the acquisition complete, the Trust will now work to transfer the property to public ownership.

The Needle Creek property was acquired by the Trust earlier in 2025, and has now been transferred to public ownership and added to the Weminuche Wilderness. Running through the property are both Needle Creek and the Needle Creek Trail, which is used by hikers and climbers to access the very popular Chicago Basin and its surrounding 14,000+ peaks. With flat, buildable stream-side sites, the property was previously at risk of development. Now protected, public access on the trail to Chicago Basin has been ensured for future generations to enjoy. Needle Creek is an important tributary to the Animas River. This water source, along with vibrant aspen groves that stretch from the creek up the slopes of the Needle Mountains, create habitat for a wide range of wildlife. The Needle Creek property scores high for climate change resilience, biodiversity, and landscape connectivity, all important conservation values that will be protected as wilderness.

The Great Western Lode, which the Trust acquired in 2022, was also recently transferred to public ownership.  Located about five miles north of the Needle Creek project in the Weminuche Wilderness, the property protects fragile alpine tundra habitat. Like the Needle Creek project, the addition of Great Western Lode to the wilderness area secures public access on a popular trail. The Whitehead Trail runs through the property and connects the Continental Divide Trail, a National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Canada, to the Highland Mary Trail and Deer Park Trails, which are easily accessible from the town of Silverton, Colorado, a year-round recreation destination. All but 6 acres of Great Western Lode have been added to wilderness area, with the remaining 6 acres, which extends outside of the established wilderness boundary, added to San Juan National Forest to be managed as wilderness.

These properties will be protected as designated wilderness, which enjoys the highest level of protection available to public lands that can only be altered by an act of Congress, not executive orders or other administration directives.

To date, The Wilderness Land Trust has protected 198 properties in Colorado, totaling over 7,300 acres. The Trust’s work to protect Colorado’s most wild landscapes can be supported during Colorado Gives Day on December 9th at https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Wildernesslandtrust, or anytime at www.wildernesslandtrust.org/get-involved/donate-now/

In the organization’s 33-year history, The Wilderness Land Trust has worked to keep the promise of wilderness by acquiring private land in and around wilderness from willing landowners and transferring them to public ownership. In this time, the Trust has purchased and transferred 616 properties totaling over 59,000 acres from Arizona to Alaska, completing 18 wilderness areas by removing their last remaining private inholdings. With each transfer, we come one step closer to completing the vision of the Wilderness Act.

 

Join us in welcoming Kay McConagha to our board of directors!

November 28, 2025-

Please join us in welcoming Kay McConagha to our board of directors!

Kay is an accomplished financial and operational leader with more than 40 years of experience guiding mission-driven organizations toward sustainable growth and long-term impact. As COO/CFO of Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Foundation, she brings a deep commitment to responsible financial stewardship, strategic planning, and building strong internal systems that empower teams and advance organizational mission.

Equally passionate about community and conservation, Kay spends her time in the Southwest – where her love of the outdoors inspires her work with national nonprofits and her dedication to environmental stewardship. A CPA, Chartered Global Management Accountant, and Six Sigma Black Belt Professional, she blends technical expertise with a lifelong commitment to strengthening organizations and the natural places that support them.

We are excited to have Kay on board, and look forward to the deep experience and insights she will bring to our volunteer board of directors.

Why continue to invest in public lands?

October 31, 2025-

Since January, we have seen a steady stream of efforts to weaken protections for public lands, from proposals to sell off large swaths of land, to executive orders and administrative rule changes altering how they are managed. In the face of these challenges, we have received variations of the same question from partners and supporters: why continue to add properties to public lands, given these efforts to weaken protections for them?

The answer is both nuanced and also very simple. To start with the simple: we believe that wilderness and public lands are a legacy that is greater than any one administration or political moment in time, so we continue to work every day to invest in its promise for future generations. The greatest protection for our wild places is not a single piece of legislation or administrative rule, it is how they inspire and touch the lives of people from diverse walks of life, creating wilderness advocates on both sides of the political aisle. It is this broad coalition of support that has halted almost every effort we’ve seen this year to sell off or weaken protections for public lands. And it is why we believe the legacy of wilderness and public lands will endure.

Unlike privately owned lands, which often serve to profit the few, public lands belong to us all and are managed by a public process that gives us a voice in their future. And while that public process isn’t always perfect, and may not always align with our personal views, we have seen it work as it has halted almost every recent effort to weaken public lands. The democratic process that governs our public lands, backed by the strong coalition supporting them, create the foundation on which the Trust’s mission to protect wild places through public ownership is built.

Before the Trust takes on a project, we evaluate how vulnerable it is under private ownership, as well as how vulnerable it would be under public ownership. Almost always, the risk of development to private lands is much greater than to public lands because of the significant public input and oversight that goes into public lands management, often at the local level. Once transferred, many of our projects are added to designated wilderness, which enjoy the highest level of protection of any public lands that can only be altered by an act of Congress, not by executive order or administration directive. For others that are added to National Forest or Bureau of Land Management lands, we work with our local partners to evaluate how wilderness values will be protected under current management plans and rules, as well as how unique attributes of the property, such as motorized access or mineral development potential, might impact how they are managed. We only move forward with projects when we are confident that they will be better protected as public lands than under private ownership. 

This is a time when it is important to pay attention to and speak up about decisions being made. But it is also a time when we must continue to believe in and invest in things that transcend the day’s headlines. For many of us, it is exactly that which draws us to wilderness as something that is bigger than any one person or moment in time. As a member of our community, we hope you’ll continue to join us in that belief as we invest in the promise and future of wilderness. As always, we welcome your questions, concerns, and feedback about how we work and the impact we are creating together.

Annie Creek added to Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness

October 17, 2025-

The Payette Land Trust and Wilderness Land Trust partnered to purchase a 94-acre private inholding within Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in August 2024, safeguarding Annie Creek from development. This property was recently transferred into public ownership, adding it to the designated wilderness area.

The Annie Creek property is located near the western edge of the wilderness area, approximately 40 miles from McCall, Idaho. Surrounded by the steep, forested terrain characteristic of the Frank Church, the property includes gentler slopes, creeks, wetlands, and flat building sites, which were used in the early 1900s during Idaho’s mining boom. Located near a well-maintained road, the property was particularly vulnerable to development. Private inholdings within designated wilderness areas carry none of the protections of the surrounding wilderness and can be developed with cabins, resorts, or even industrial sites. The threat of development was removed when the two land trusts, with generous support from the Leuthold Foundation, purchased the inholding from a private owner. Now in public hands, Annie Creek will enjoy the highest level of protection available to public lands as designated wilderness, which can only be altered by an act of Congress, not through executive order or administration directive.

At 2.3 million acres, the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states and is home to over 180 miles of the free-flowing Salmon River. Its large, connected habitats are rich in biodiversity with over 280 species of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The addition of the Annie Creek property to the wilderness area will help protect important wildlife habitat and strengthen connectivity across the landscape.

“Idaho is changing at a rapid rate which requires voluntary partnerships between private landowners, organizations and foundations to conserve Idaho’s natural beauty. We are proud to work with The Wilderness Land Trust and the Leuthold Foundation to conserve this unique landscape into the future”

-Payette Land Trust Executive Director, Craig Utter

“Thanks to our partnerships with the Payette Land Trust and the Leuthold Foundation, this special place will be protected for future generations to enjoy in one of America’s most iconic wilderness areas”

-The Wilderness Land Trust President, Brad Borst

In the organization’s 33-year history, The Wilderness Land Trust has worked to keep the promise of wilderness by acquiring these private inholdings from willing landowners and transferring them to federal ownership to become designated wilderness. In this time, the Trust has purchased and transferred 614 properties totaling over 59,000 acres from Arizona to Alaska, completing 18 wilderness areas by removing their last remaining private inholdings. With each transfer, we come one step closer to completing the vision of the Wilderness Act. Learn more at www.wildernesslandtrust.org.

Payette Land Trust (PLT) works to conserve the wild and working lands of West Central Idaho by partnering with private landowners, communities, and conservation organizations to balance conservation and development. PLT currently owns or holds conservation easements on 21 properties totaling 3,891 acres across Adams, Idaho, Valley, and Washington counties. Through projects like the Annie Creek partnership, PLT advances its mission of voluntary, community-based conservation for the benefit of current and future generations. Learn more at www.payettelandtrust.org.

960 acres protected in California’s Bodie Hills

October 3, 2025-

Where the high peaks of the eastern Sierra and Yosemite National Park meet the sagebrush steppe, the Bodie Hills of California remain one of the state’s most ecologically intact landscapes with some of its highest biodiversity. Here The Wilderness Land Trust recently acquired a 960-acre property adjoining the Granite Mountain Wilderness area, removing a significant threat of development from this important landscape.

The Granite Mountain North property was purchased from private owners who had plans for residential development on it. With a road already built and well drilled on the property, the risk of development was well on its way. But over the course of seven years, the Trust worked with the landowners to find a different path forward for the property, completing the purchase of it last month. With the almost thousand-acre property now conserved, we have ensured its habitat for sage grouse and wild horses, as well as raptor nesting sites will be protected. Beyond the boundaries of the property itself, this acquisition helps maintain a buffer around the designated wilderness area, also benefiting its habitat, wildlife migration corridors, and scenic viewsheds.

Standing on the Granite Mountain North property with open views across the Bodie Hills and Mono Lake you can point to several other Wilderness Land Trust projects on horizon. With your support we have now protected around 8,000 acres in total in the area, stitching together a fragmented patchwork of public and private lands into a more unified and protected landscape.

Trail access protected in Colorado’s Weminuche Wilderness

September 19, 2025-

Earlier this summer the Trust transferred our 30-acre Needle Creek property, adding it to the Weminuche Wilderness. Last week we built off that momentum, transferring our 31-acre Great Western Lode properties to also be added to the Weminuche, once again growing Colorado’s largest wilderness area.

The Great Western Lode project is made up of three properties totaling 31 acres. Located about five miles north of the Needle Creek project, they protect fragile alpine tundra habitat. Like the Needle Creek project, the addition of Great Western Lode to the wilderness area secures public access on a popular trail. The 9.3-mile Whitehead Trail runs through two of the project’s three properties, and connects the Continental Divide Trail to the Highland Mary Trail and Deer Park Trails, which are easily accessible from the town of Silverton, Colorado, a year-round recreation destination.

All but 6 acres of Great Western Lode will be added to designated wilderness, enjoying the highest level of protection available to public lands that can only be altered by an act of Congress, not executive orders or other administration directives. The remaining 6 acres, which extends outside of the established wilderness boundary, will be added to San Juan National Forest to be managed as wilderness.

With the transfer of Great Western Lode, the Trust has protected a total of 15 properties covering over 265 acres in the Weminuche Wilderness.

Protecting bat habitat in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness

September 5, 2025-

Given that many of the private wilderness inholdings that we work to protect are old mining claims, it’s not uncommon to find open mine shafts or adits, the horizontal passages used to access underground mines, on them. When we do, it is important to close them off before the property becomes public lands to ensure public safety. Our staff recently visited our Annie Creek project in Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, which we acquired in last year in partnership with the Payette Land Trust, to close two open adits on the property. But how that’s done has a big impact on one of wilderness’s little thought of, but most important species: bats.

There are at least 13 species of bats in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. A single little brown bat, one of the most common species found there, can consume over 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in just one hour. If you’ve ever tried to put up a tent or cook your dinner while camping in the thick of mosquito season, that alone may be enough to convince you of the importance of bats in the wilderness. But bats are also critical for healthy forests, protecting young trees from insect damage. Researchers have found that forest where bats are present have three times less insects and five times less defoliation of young trees than forests without bats. When young saplings are defoliated, having their leaves eaten by insects, they are more vulnerable to stressors like drought and fungal diseases. Beyond playing an important pest control role in forests, bats eat enough pests so save more than $3 billion a year in crop damage and pesticide costs across US agricultural production. Bats are also important pollinators. But due to disease and habitat loss, bat populations are in decline across the country.

While many species of bats actually roost in trees, habitat like caves and abandoned mines are important for reproduction and raising their young. So when it comes to closing off mine adits on the Trust’s properties, we make sure that they are still accessible to bats. Sometimes, when the property is easily accessible, that means installing steel bars or grates across the opening. In Colorado, the Division of Reclamation, Mining, & Safety has a program to help install these grates, but no such program exists in Idaho. In the case of Annie Creek, where steel grates would be too heavy to hike in, we had custom cable nets fabricated to stretch across the roughly 5×7’ opening and bolt into the rocks surrounding them. Quarter inch cables are used to create a six-inch square mesh, ensuring bats can easily fly through them.

Our staff were joined by two of our local USFS partners, and we were able to hike in all the materials and install both nets in just one day, instead of the two we had anticipated it would take. This kind of stewardship and restoration is an important part of our work, both to ensure that properties are cared for after we acquire them, and to return them to their wilderness character and mitigate any safety hazards before they become wilderness and public lands.

 

Catching up with an old friend: Lundy Canyon

August 22, 2025-

 

This summer, while working on projects in the nearby Bodie Hills, our staff had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend, our Lundy Canyon project, to see what successful protection of this once-vulnerable property looks like three years after it transferred to public ownership.

Today nothing separates the property from the surrounding Hoover wilderness. But that wasn’t always a given: a private buyer who wanted to put a permanent houseboat development on the small alpine lake was under contract to buy the property. That’s when The Wilderness Land Trust, with the help of our partners at the Mono Lake Committee and Eastern Sierra Land Trust, stepped in to purchase the property and eventually transfer it to public ownership.

Check out this short video to learn more about the project and see the lasting impact of your support.

 

Public Access to Achenbach Canyon Protected

August 8, 2025-

In southern New Mexico, the Organ Mountains Wilderness covers just shy of 20,000 acres of varied habitat, from the lower elevation Chihuahuan Desert to the rugged Organ Mountains, named for their rock spires resembling organ pipes. Located just miles from Las Cruces, New Mexico’s second largest city, the wilderness area and surrounding Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument provide varied recreation opportunities along with diverse wildlife habitat.

In 2021 The Wilderness Land Trust purchased 111 acres of private property adjoining the wilderness area at the mouth of Achenbach Canyon. The project protects public access to the popular 5.5-mile trail that follows the canyon up the flanks of the peaks above, connecting it to the Sierra Vista Trailhead. Working with our partners at the Bureau of Land Management, we recently completed the transfer of the property to public ownership through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

LWCF uses revenue from offshore oil and gas leases to fund conservation and recreation projects across the country, from acquiring properties in and around wilderness areas, like the Achenbach Canyon project, to building parks and playgrounds.

Senator Heinrich (NM), who visited the Achenbach Canyon property with the Trust and our partners after it was acquired in 2021, celebrates the project for improving public access: “Five years ago, we passed the Great American Outdoors Act and permanently funded the LWCF. Today, we’re seeing the results: the Achenbach Canyon property is now public land—thanks to LWCF Recreation Access funds. Improving access to OUR public lands is exactly why we fought for it. I’m grateful to the Wilderness Land Trust and Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks for their partnership and hard work in expanding New Mexicans’ access to public lands with this win.”

Satellite images from February 1996 and June 2025 showing development surrounding the Achenbach Canyon project (outlined in red). Images from Google Earth.

Over the last 30 years Las Cruces has doubled in population, and the area surrounding the Achenbach Canyon project has infilled with residential development. Protecting the property as public lands will ensure that public access is preserved and corridors of connected habitat are maintained for wildlife migration between the wilderness area and national monument.

Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks was an invaluable partner in making the Achenbach Canyon project a success: “Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks are elated to hear that Achenbach Canyon will now be in public hands. Access to this stunning area of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument has been a top priority for the organization. We wish to thank the Wilderness Land Trust and the BLM Las Cruces office for their commitment to this project and hard work to get this done. This project is a great example as to why the Land and Water Conservation Fund is such a vital tool for communities working to promote access to public lands. Achenbach is a jewel of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and this will ensure access for generations to come” says Patrick Nolan, Executive Director.

Representative Vasquez (NM) voices his support of the project, emphasizing the role of the local community: “This acquisition of the Achenbach Canyon Trail in Las Cruces is a significant win for all of us who cherish the Organ Mountains and the beautiful landscape that is right in our backyard. The transfer of this 111 acres opens up public access to one of the best recreation opportunities in our national monument. This was driven by the local community and groups like the Friends of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks, and it is exactly the kind of progress I’ve been advocating for as a leader of the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus in Congress.”

Senator Luján (NM) also praises the project for benefiting local outdoor recreation and the tourism economy: “In the face of today’s unprecedented attacks on our public lands, it’s great to see public access to Achenbach Canyon protected.  Ensuring that our growing Las Cruces community has access to this special place is a win-win for outdoor recreation and our tourism economy.  Thank you to The Wilderness Land Trust, the Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, and all who have supported the Land and Water Conservation Fund to make public protections like these a reality.”

Achenbach Canyon is the 26th property protected by The Wilderness Land Trust in New Mexico, totaling 4,900 acres.  The Trust also acquired another 98-acre property located north of Achenbach Canyon in 2020, which we are still working to transfer to public ownership.