Armed Forces Initiative sends letter to Congress

"For many of us, these wild places are the last bridge between the war we left behind and the peace we still seek. Does Congress truly intend to burn that bridge with the stroke of a pen?"

The below letter was authored by the board of BHA's Armed Forces Initiative and mailed on June 18,2025 to all 541 members of Congress concerning the proposed sell-off of over 3 million acres of public lands.

June 18, 2025

Dear Member of Congress:

Chief among the ideals that service members and veterans swore an oath to was to defend the ideals of this nation. One of which is the freedom embodied by our public lands—places where every citizen, regardless of who they are, can walk on unfenced ground that belongs to all of us. The proposal hidden in the current budget-reconciliation bill to sell off millions of those acres is a direct affront to the values we fought—and far too many of our brothers and sisters died—to protect.

Service members return home carrying more ghosts than gear. PTSD and traumatic brain injuries do not clock out at the end of the day. Yet on public lands— whether building a campfire with our kids, identifying constellations or following a deer track across fresh snow—we find something that pills and therapy often can’t give: peace. Out there we are not “patients” or “cases.” We are once again simply Mom, Dad, friend, neighbor—we are whole.

To sell these lands is to betray the very people who now rely on them for recovery and reconnection.

But this fight is bigger than the benefits public lands have for veterans. According to the Department of the Interior, recreation and resource-based jobs on public lands supported 949,000 American paychecks and generated $252 billion in economic output in 2023. Trailheads feed small-town diners; boat ramps keep outfitters open; hunting seasons put guides, game processors, and rural hotels to work. The Joint Economic Committee has likewise recognized the outsized mental health benefits of outdoor access—especially for military families.

Yes, America faces a housing shortage. Paving forests, however, will not solve it. Once a ridgeline is bulldozed or a watershed is subdivided, it does not grow back. We cannot restore tomorrow what Congress sells today.

This debate is not theoretical:

• It is about whether a child can wander in a quiet glade and discover grit and wonder.
• It is about whether any American can still sling a backpack into the truck on a Friday night and drive to land that is theirs—no gate, no fee, no reservation system.
• It is about connection—to nature, to each other, to healing.

For many of us, these wild places are the last bridge between the war we left behind and the peace we still seek. Does Congress truly intend to burn that bridge with the stroke of a pen?

We urge every Senator to reject any language that sells, trades, or otherwise disposes of America’s public-land legacy. Our nation’s strength was built on shared sacrifice and shared inheritance. Let us not dismantle one to undermine the other.

Respectfully,

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Armed Forces Initiative (AFI) National Board

Shawn McCarthy - AFI Board Chair

Rafael Vargas - AFI Board Vice Chair

Dustin McKenna - AFI Board Secretary

Frank Gambardella - AFI Board Treasurer

Cody Fongemie - AFI Board Eastern Region Manager

Dustin Spilman - AFI Western Region Manager

Hunter Owen - AFI Board Policy Manager

Alena Billingsley - AFI Marketing Manager

Garrett Robinson - AFI Corporate Partnerships Manager

Each of the above signers are either Veterans, Retired Military, or in a Guard status, or currently serving on Active-Duty. In no way is this letter affiliated with or endorsed by any element within the Department of Defense.