The Wilderness Society is a left-of-center environmentalist group that primarily supports land conservation efforts, but also finances policy advocacy. Since its founding in 1935, the Society has helped protect nearly 112 million acres. ¹ Since 2009, the Society’s efforts have become more partisan, including a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and combatting the environmental policies of former President Donald Trump. ²

The Wilderness Society Action Fund is a PAC sister-group of The Wilderness Society. In the 2022 election cycle, the Action Fund spent almost $50,000 to support Democrats; as of March 2024, the Action Fund had spent $15,000 to support Democrats in the 2024 cycle. In neither cycle did it support Republican candidates. ^{3 4}

History

The Wilderness Society was founded in 1935 as a general wilderness conservation organization. In its early years, the Society focused on advocacy efforts to prevent development in existing conservation sites, such as Dinosaur National Monument’s Green River. In the 1950s, the Society’s focus transitioned to helping establish permanent conservation sights; the Society takes credit for influencing President Harry Truman to establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. In 1956, the Society wrote the first draft of what would later become the Wilderness Act of 1964, which immediately put 9.1 million acres of wilderness under federal protection. ⁵

In 1978, with support from the Society, President Jimmy Carter established 15 new national monuments in Alaska under the Antiquities Act. ⁶

In 1994, with support from the Society, the California Desert Protection Act was passed to protect Joshua Tree and other wilderness lands in the state. ⁷

In 1999, the Society established the Wilderness Support Center to manage its legislative and legal efforts to support conservation. ⁸

In 2001, with support from the Society, the U.S. Forest Service established new regulations on the construction of roads in protected forests. ⁹

The Society’s website characterizes 2009 to 2017 as a time when “new conservation standards were set,” including a focus on climate change and “the start of inward-looking efforts to build a more diverse conservation community.” ¹⁰

In 2009, the Society successfully pushed for U.S. Congress to pass the Omnibus Public Land Management Act to protect more than 2 million acres of land. ¹¹

In 2017, the society successfully pushed for President Barack Obama to support the expansion of the California Coastal and Cascade-Siskiyou national monuments. ¹²

From 2017 to 2020, the Society opposed the public-lands policies of President Donald Trump. ¹³

The Society considers the era starting in 2021, to be dedicated to “addressing climate change and environmental justice.” ¹⁴

Trump Administration

Terrible Ten

The Wilderness Society published what it calls the “Terrible Ten,” the ten greatest opponents of conservation efforts during the administration of former President Donald Trump. The Terrible Ten consisted of then-U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), libertarian philanthropists Charles and David Koch, the Bundy Family (famous for the 2014 federal standoff), former U.S. Office of Budget and Management director Mick Mulvaney, former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), the American Petroleum Institute, then-Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Ryan Zinke, and then-President Trump .¹⁵

Litigation

In July 2017, the Wilderness Society, the Natural Resource Defense Council, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and a coalition of other environmentalist groups filed a lawsuit under Earthjustice in federal court to stop a proclamation from President Donald Trump from dismantling the Grand Staircase–Escalante national monument in Utah. In October 2021, President Joe Biden reversed former President Trump’s order. ¹⁶

Grants

In 2022, the Wilderness Society contributed $320,000 to its affiliated lobbying arm, the Wilderness Society Action Fund. ¹⁷

Also in 2022, the Society contributed to GreenLatinos, the Keystone Research Center, the Native American Rights Fund, the Resource Legacy Fund, the Wild Earth Society, the 7G Foundation, the Native Organizer Alliance, the Native Movement, the Sustainable Markets Foundation, the Environmental Science Center, the National Wildlife Federation, the Center for Civic Policy, and the Health Equity Council. ¹⁸

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In 2016, the Wilderness Society launched its “Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” ^{19 20}

The 2017 “Report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” states that the Society began a new hiring initiative designed to recruit certain percentages of racial and ethnic minority employees. Every staff member hired in 2017 was given at least one “inclusivity-related goal into their individual FY2017 goals.” Existing employees began to undergo training to “create a more equitable and inclusive working environment.” Three working groups were created within the staff to further encourage DEI goals. ²¹

The 2021 “Report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (the last publicly available report as of April 2024) states that all employees underwent mandatory “Racial Equity training” from the Racial Equity Institute. From 2015 to 2021, the Society decreased the white percentage of its staff from 88 to 74. ²²

Public Land Renaming

In July 2021, the Society published an article advocating for renaming public lands named after racist historical figures. The article was entitled, “It’s time to own up to the racism and violence embedded in the names of parks and public lands.” ²³

Land Acknowledgement

The Wilderness Society’s website features a “Land Acknowledgement” which includes a commitment to recognize “the historic and ongoing injustices perpetrated against Indigenous peoples” to “ensure a more just and equitable future.” ²⁴

Leadership

Jamie Williams has been the president of The Wilderness Society since 2012. Prior, Williams served as the Northern Rockies Initiative director, the Montana state director, and the NW Colorado program manager at The Nature Conservancy for nearly 20 years. ²⁵ In 2022, Williams earned nearly $400,000 in compensation from the Society. ²⁶ In January 2024, Williams announced his plans to resign from the Society when a suitable replacement could be found. ²⁷

Hansjörg Wyss is a member of the governing council of The Wilderness Society. Wyss is a Swiss billionaire and former chief executive officer of Synthes, a medical device manufacturer. He has supported a wide range of left-of-center policies through his $2.5 billion Wyss Foundation and its lobbying sister-group, the Berger Action Fund, the former of which is a funder of the Society. ^{28 29}

Molly McUsic is the vice chair of the governing council of The Wilderness Society. She is the president of the Wyss Foundation and formerly served as the Counselor to U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in the Clinton administration. ^{30 31}

Lobbying

The Wilderness Society has engaged in lobbying for decades. Since 2010, its annual lobbying expenditure has been between $67,000 and $870,000, according to OpenSecrets. ³²

Controversy

In 2015, then-Wilderness Society regional director Brent Martin crafted an agreement with North Carolina to permit the use of a forest preserve for outdoor hobbyists such as bike riders and hikers. However, Fred Stanback, Jr., the billionaire who funds environmentalist groups through the Foundation for the Carolinas, opposed the agreement. According to Martin, Stanback met with the leaders of the Wilderness Society and the Southern Environmental Law Center, and convinced them to pull their support for the agreement. Martin also claimed that Stanback, who was one of the biggest funders of the Society at the time, encouraged the Society to push Martin to resign. ³³

1. “About Us.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us.
2. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
3. “PAC Profile: Wilderness Society Action Fund.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/wilderness-society-action-fund/C00788992/summary/2020.
4. “About Us.” Wilderness Society Action Fund. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wildernessaction.org/about-us.
5. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
6. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
7. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
8. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
9. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
10. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
11. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
12. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
13. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
14. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
15. “The Terrible Ten.” The Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/articles/article/terrible-ten.
16. “The Wilderness Society et al. v. Trump et al. (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument).” NRDC. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.nrdc.org/court-battles/wilderness-society-et-v-trump-et-grand-staircase-escalante.
17. “Wilderness Society Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/530167933/202322019349300407/full.
18. “Wilderness Society Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/530167933/202322019349300407/full.
19. “Our History.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-history.
20. “Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” The Wilderness Society. December 1, 2021. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/articles/article/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion.
21. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 2017 Annual Report.” The Wilderness Society. 2017. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DEI%20Annual%20Report%20R8%20Final_0_1.pdf.
22. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 2017 Annual Report.” The Wilderness Society. 2021. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DEI%20Annual%20Report%202021_0.pdf
23.  “It’s time to own up to the racism and violence embedded in the names of parks and public lands.” The Wilderness Society. July 16, 2021. Updated July 16, 2021. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/its-time-own-racism-and-violence-embedded-names-parks-and-public-lands.
24. “Our Mission.” Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/our-mission-timeline.
25. “Jamie Williams.” The Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/jamie-williams.
26. “Wilderness Society Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/530167933/202322019349300407/full.
27. Bravender, Robin. “Wilderness Society boss to exit.” Politico Pro. February 27, 2024. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2024/02/27/wilderness-society-boss-to-exit-00143625.
28. ^[1] “Our Government Council.” The Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-governing-council.
29. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Wyss Foundation. 2017-2020. Schedule I. Grants for 2000 to 2016 acquired via Foundation Search. Search conducted April 23, 2024. www.FoundationSearch.org.
30. ^[1] “Our Government Council.” The Wilderness Society. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.wilderness.org/about-us/our-team/our-governing-council.
31. “Molly McUsic.” Council on Foundation. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://cof.org/person/molly-mcusic.
32. “Wilderness Society.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/wilderness-society/lobbying?id=D000031053.
33. Braun, Ken. “Anti-Humanist Environmentalism: Stanback’s Piggy-bank.” Capital Research Center. July 17, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/anti-humanist-environmentalism-stanbacks-piggy-bank/.