Our 2025 Annual Report

Dear friends:

Close your eyes. Picture the joy of hiking through a cool green forest, the stillness of a canoe skimming across a quiet river, the vibration of bicycle tires gripping a gravel path, the sound of laughter spilling across a sunny picnic in the park. That feeling you get when you’re outside—that’s why we do what we do. We work to protect that essential feeling of connection: to nature, to place, to one another. It’s a feeling like no other.

This year, we navigated one of the most unpredictable political landscapes in decades. We defeated proposals to sell off public lands, weathered unprecedented budget cuts, and witnessed community and agency partners do more with less. And yet, people across the country—regardless of their political beliefs or zip codes—stood united for access to the outdoors and nature. So, Trust for Public Land did what we do best: We rolled up our sleeves, adapted, and got to work.

In Dallas, Texas, we launched a bold $100 million campaign to expand park access across the city and celebrated the opening of Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park. In Scranton, Pennsylvania, we partnered with residents to reimagine the asphalt yard at John F. Kennedy Elementary, turning it into a vibrant, green space that fuels learning, play, and connection for students and nearby neighbors as the city’s first community schoolyard. On Staten Island, we secured the last piece of a land protection puzzle, ensuring the preservation of Pouch Camp, where thousands of New York City kids are introduced to a lifelong love of nature. And on St. Croix, we achieved one of the largest land conservation victories in the history of the U.S. Virgin Islands at the new Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park, a tribute to the Maroons—self-liberated people who resisted enslavement and created independent communities across the Americas.

We saw communities turn dreams into plans and plans into parks, trails, and community gathering spaces. Resilience shone brightly everywhere we went. In a time defined by division, our work is about connection—to the outdoors, to our shared history, to one another. And regardless of each new chapter of the American story, TPL’s compass stays true: Create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.

And now, guided by our new strategic plan, we’re sharpening that focus even further: closing the outdoor equity gap and connecting more people to the benefits of the outdoors than ever before.

Thank you for being part of this movement—for embracing the simple, radical belief that the outdoors belongs to everyone. Together, we will forge ahead with courage, innovation, and optimism. There has never been a more urgent, or promising, or relevant, time to do this work. This is our moment. Let’s get outside.

With gratitude,

Carrie Besnette Hauser
President & CEO
Trust for Public Land