Our Heritage

The story of veterans defending public lands did not begin with our organization. It stretches back more than a century.

Before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt served as a cavalry officer, hunted and ranched in the Dakotas, and developed a deep appreciation for the American landscape. As president, he protected roughly 230 million acres of public land—national forests, wildlife refuges, monuments, and parks. He did not see conservation as separate from patriotism. He saw both as forms of national service.

Long before the National Park Service existed, veterans were helping care for America’s most treasured places.

1800s
The Roughrider
The story of veterans defending public lands did not begin with us. It stretches back more than a century.

One chapter of that story begins with a President who was also a soldier.

Before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt served as a cavalry officer, hunted and ranched in the Dakotas, and developed a deep appreciation for the American landscape. As president, he protected roughly 230 million acres of public land – national forests, wildlife refuges, monuments, and parks. He did not see conservation as separate from patriotism. He saw both as forms of national service.
WWI
Protecting Lands
Long before the National Park Service existed, soldiers were helping care for America’s most treasured places.

From 1886 to 1918, U.S. Army cavalry units were stationed in Yellowstone and Yosemite. Among them were the Buffalo Soldiers – Black Army regiments who patrolled remote terrain, protected wildlife, maintained trails, and safeguarded these landscapes during their most vulnerable years. The flat-brimmed campaign hat those soldiers wore eventually became the National Park Service ranger hat. Every time you see it, you are looking at a piece of military history carried forward into conservation.
WWII
A New Chapter
After World War II, a different chapter opened.

Veterans came home carrying trauma that had no name yet. Many of them turned to the outdoors for peace and healing. In 1948, Army veteran Earl Shaffer became the first person to complete a documented thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. He said he needed to “walk off the war.”

He was not alone in that instinct. Generations of veterans have found the same thing: that mountains do not ask about rank, that rivers do not care where you deployed, that public lands provide something increasingly rare – space to come back to yourself.
2000s
A New Millennium
People protect what helped save them.

The 10th Mountain Division trained at 9,200 feet in the Colorado Rockies, learning to fight in the mountains of Italy. After the war, those veterans came home and helped build America’s modern outdoor recreation industry. Ski resorts. Guided expeditions. Conservation organizations. When the time came to permanently protect Camp Hale, veterans led the fight—not just because it was beautiful, but because it was sacred ground. In 2022, it became a national monument.
Today
Continuing The Tradition
That is the tradition we are continuing.

The landscapes have changed. The challenges have changed. The coalitions working to protect them have changed. The underlying idea has not.

America’s public lands are part of what we swore to defend. They belong to every American – connecting communities across geography, politics, and generations. For many of us, they remain places of purpose, adventure, and healing.

Before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt served as a cavalry officer, hunted and ranched in the Dakotas, and developed a deep appreciation for the American landscape. As president, he protected roughly 230 million acres of public land—national forests, wildlife refuges, monuments, and parks. He did not see conservation as separate from patriotism. He saw both as forms of national service.

Long before the National Park Service existed, veterans were helping care for America’s most treasured places.

1800s

The Roughrider

The story of veterans defending public lands did not begin with us. It stretches back more than a century.

One chapter of that story begins with a President who was also a soldier.

Before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt served as a cavalry officer, hunted and ranched in the Dakotas, and developed a deep appreciation for the American landscape. As president, he protected roughly 230 million acres of public land – national forests, wildlife refuges, monuments, and parks. He did not see conservation as separate from patriotism. He saw both as forms of national service.

WWI

Protecting The Land

Long before the National Park Service existed, soldiers were helping care for America’s most treasured places.

From 1886 to 1918, U.S. Army cavalry units were stationed in Yellowstone and Yosemite. Among them were the Buffalo Soldiers – Black Army regiments who patrolled remote terrain, protected wildlife, maintained trails, and safeguarded these landscapes during their most vulnerable years. The flat-brimmed campaign hat those soldiers wore eventually became the National Park Service ranger hat. Every time you see it, you are looking at a piece of military history carried forward into conservation.

WWII

A New Chapter

After World War II, a different chapter opened.

Veterans came home carrying trauma that had no name yet. Many of them turned to the outdoors for peace and healing. In 1948, Army veteran Earl Shaffer became the first person to complete a documented thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. He said he needed to “walk off the war.”

He was not alone in that instinct. Generations of veterans have found the same thing: that mountains do not ask about rank, that rivers do not care where you deployed, that public lands provide something increasingly rare – space to come back to yourself.

2000s

A New Millenium

People protect what helped save them.

The 10th Mountain Division trained at 9,200 feet in the Colorado Rockies, learning to fight in the mountains of Italy. After the war, those veterans came home and helped build America’s modern outdoor recreation industry. Ski resorts. Guided expeditions. Conservation organizations. When the time came to permanently protect Camp Hale, veterans led the fight—not just because it was beautiful, but because it was sacred ground. In 2022, it became a national monument.

Today

Continuing The Tradition

That is the tradition we are continuing.

The landscapes have changed. The challenges have changed. The coalitions working to protect them have changed. The underlying idea has not.

America’s public lands are part of what we swore to defend. They belong to every American – connecting communities across geography, politics, and generations. For many of us, they remain places of purpose, adventure, and healing.

“There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value.”

Our Heritage

The story of veterans defending public lands did not begin with our organization. It stretches back more than a century.

Long before the National Park Service existed, veterans were helping care for America’s most treasured places.

1800s

WWI

WWII

2000s

Today

Long before the National Park Service existed, veterans were helping care for America’s most treasured places.

– Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. Army Veteran & 26th President)