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Home > Programs and Policy > Habitat Conservation > Federal Lands > National Forests and BLM Lands

Wildlife on Our Public Lands

Shoshone National Forest, WYDefenders of Wildlife is working to ensure the Forest Service and BLM are making healthy wildlife a management priority on federal lands, so that these lands can continue to be an oasis for wildlife.

Due to sheer size and scope, along with variations in climate, topography, and other geographic forces, the combined estate of the Forest Service and BLM host an incredible array of fish, wildlife and plants.

Forest Service land alone, which represents 73% of major U.S. ecosystem types, hosts more rare species than any other federal land system, and the Bureau of Land Management, long mischaracterized as substandard in terms of diversity, manages more wildlife habitat than any other state or federal agency.

The national forests and BLM lands host many of our nation’s iconic wildlife species including grizzly bear, wolf, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, elk, and wolverine. Many of the wildlife found on public lands are endemic to the United States – the pronghorn antelope and black-footed ferret are found on no other continent.

Visit the Your Lands, Your Wildlife campaign site to learn more about these species of wildlife.