Every elected official in the USA and every American service member takes an oath to serve and protect the Constitution from threats, foreign and domestic. It is the same oath taken by every sitting President. As veterans who are also elected officials, we take that oath seriously. We served and fought in the service of the Constitution to protect our democratic values, which includes keeping our national public lands for all.  

Right now, our public lands are under serious threat from Presidential Executive Orders—even though the property clause gives Congress the authority under the Constitution to protect our public lands. 

Presidential Executive Orders have ramped up mining, expanded oil and gas leases on public lands, opened 59 million acres of national forest land to logging, and removed national monument status for cultural and ecological sites. All the while, the administration has been gutting agency budgets. When the president signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund, he sent a clear signal that his administration intended to sell off the nation’s public lands. Instead, we need an energy security sovereign wealth fund as other nations have successfully utilized, financed similarly to how we support the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

There are roughly 640 million acres of public lands owned by the American people and managed by Congress. These lands represent about 28% of the total land area in the country — where every American is an equal land owner by birthright. Our public lands are our democratic promise in action.

Our National Parks welcomed 331.9 million visitors in 2024, outpacing the most popular built tourist attractions. A 2025 Trust for Public Land poll found that 74% of Americans, across both parties, want public lands to remain public and never be sold off. Another poll found 82% believe conserving natural resources is patriotic. Let’s be united with the American people and  protect and preserve our public lands for all.

Sincerely yours,

Veterans who are elected officials from every state.