Working with grassroots advocates, agency leaders, and elected officials, OSI time and again has deftly built support for smart and meaningful land conservation victories.
Today, we continue to inform and educate the public, policymakers, foundations, and nonprofit partners, to achieve real and lasting success for fresh air, clean water, and scenic landscapes.
Effective advocacy to build support within state and local governments
From the halls of state government to county meeting rooms, OSI meets with leaders and builds coalitions to advocate for improving access to nature and the outdoors, strengthening communities, protecting water resources, and preparing for a changing climate.
OSI also mobilizes on-the-ground support for critical funding, such as New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund — a resource for open space protection, municipal parks, environmental justice, and the care and stewardship of public lands.
In New Jersey, OSI worked closely with state officials to identify $65 million in state funding for the purchase of the Essex Hudson Greenway; and in South Carolina, OSI is leading efforts to convert mitigation dollars into conservation successes.
Securing the greatest environmental victory in a generation
In Washington, D.C., OSI was a leader securing full and permanent funding for America’s Land and Water Conservation Fund, the nation’s only dedicated funding source for conservation, protects natural resources where Americans live, work, and play.
Through its Outdoors America Campaign, OSI in 2020 successfully spearheaded the effort to achieve this full and permanent funding for LWCF, and secure benefits for national parks, national wildlife refuges, historic battlefields, working ranchlands, community playgrounds, and many more places.
Through years of outreach and education, and with a coalition of some 2,000 partners — including conservation nonprofits, outdoor industry representatives, Indigenous tribes, wildlife watchers, and religious organizations, among others — OSI achieved a victory that had been sought for over a half-century.