FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Forgotten Lands Project Founder Advocates for Enhanced Conservation of Public Lands
In a new book, Josh Jackson explores the overlooked wilderness of California’s public land and asks us to consider what makes a place worth protecting.
BERKELEY, CALIF. — Over fifteen million acres of California wilderness is governed by the Bureau of Land Management, one of the four federal agencies that oversee public lands across the United States. Yet this stunning swath of earth—more than double the total acreage of the state’s nine national parks—is mostly unknown to the Californians who own it. A weekend camping with his young children at the Trona Pinnacles, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, was Josh Jackson’s introduction to public land and the start of an obsession. Jackson set out to systematically visit every significant parcel of BLM land in California that he could access with the two-wheel-drive family van, exploring and photographing and documenting the state’s overlooked landscapes. The result is The Enduring Wild, the first-ever mainstream book focused on the history and conservation of BLM land.
The millions of acres maintained by the Bureau of Land Management—a tenth of all land in the United States—are unique because of how they came to be in the federal domain. Often referred to as “leftover lands,” these expanses are those that were passed over by other federal agencies, like the National Park Service and the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Because of their reputation as “leftover,” the fate of BLM land has seemed inconsequential—an auspicious sentiment for the private interests subjecting it to overgrazing and unchecked extraction. If these lands continue to go unseen and unloved, who will notice when they disappear under the pressure to turn places into profits? How can we protect what we don’t know?
In The Enduring Wild, Jackson takes readers on a road trip spanning thousands of miles, crisscrossing the Golden State, from the Pacific shores of the King Range down to the Mojave Desert. Over mountains, across prairies, and through sagebrush, he unravels the hidden stories of these lands. He tells of the Indigenous peoples who have called them home for millennia, of the extractivist threats that imperil them today, and of the grassroots organizers and political champions who have rallied to their common defense to uphold the radical mandate to protect these natural treasures for generations to come.
With breathtaking photography from landscapes explored like never before, The Enduring Wild offers an unparalleled look into California’s public lands and asks us to consider what makes a place worth protecting.
Media Contact:
Megan Posco
Posco Publicity
For review copies, feature interest, and interview and image requests, get in touch: megan@poscopublicity.com
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Advance Praise for The Enduring Wild
“Josh Jackson takes readers on an expedition across the astonishingly diverse lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in California—more than twice the size of the state’s nine national parks combined. Each step in this transformative journey becomes a deliberate act of noticing, cultivating a profound understanding of stewardship, resilience, and interconnectedness. The Enduring Wild is a call to look beyond the surface, embrace the deep connections that tie us to our public lands, and commit to safeguarding them for future generations.”
—QT LUONG, author of Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks
“Footstep by footstep, Josh Jackson gifts a vision of the often unseen ‘leftover lands’ of California and the threats to these precious places. He seeks out, finds, and shares the subtle beauty and meaning that come from a search for understanding and a deep attachment to place. This appreciation of BLM lands invites all to find their way into the wild.”
—McKENZIE LONG, author of This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments
“Josh Jackson lives and breathes these lands. In them, it is clear he has discovered the secret heart of the West, and his approach to sharing it is full of genuine respect, enthusiastic admiration, and a love that shines like a sunrise”
—OBI KAUFMANN, author of The California Field Atlas
Josh Jackson is a writer, photographer, and leading voice for public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Through his evocative Forgotten Lands Project, Josh employs immersive storytelling and striking visual narratives to inspire appreciation and engagement with our least understood, least protected, and largely unknown landscapes. His advocacy work has been featured by the Los Angeles Times, SFGate, and the Nature’s Archive podcast. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children. The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California’s Public Lands is his first book. Explore more of his work at forgottenlandsproject.com.
