help us honor dr. martin Luther king, Jr. with a day of service for our public lands and waters.
“We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”
So here's the deal: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Great American Outdoors Act Day, and Public Lands Day are no longer free entrance days at fee-based federal recreational lands. Because apparently, honoring civil rights heroes through accessible public spaces was just too much of a good thing. But we're not here to sulk—we're committed to honoring MLK's legacy the old-fashioned way: by actually doing something.
Monday, January 19th is the perfect opportunity to remind everyone what "a day on, not a day off" actually means. Let's renew the movement those successful civil rights leaders started by:
Hosting or joining service projects in parks, open spaces, and public lands—yes, even the ocean-based ones like Biscayne, Channel Islands, and Dry Tortugas National Parks, where you can clean beaches, restore marine habitats, and contemplate how we're now charging people to visit water.
Publishing media and advocacy opportunities connecting civil rights and nature—because someone needs to tell these stories.
Earning media spotlights to elevate underrepresented environmental and justice leaders—the ones who've been doing this work all along while others were just discovering that nature exists.
Background (aka "How We Got Here")
In November 2025, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum decided the best way to manage our national treasures was to erase Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy from our public lands by canceling MLK Day, Juneteenth, Great American Outdoors Act Day, and National Public Lands Day as free entrance days. He also made it harder and pricier for folks without state-issued ID to enjoy national parks—because nothing says "land of the free" like nickel-and-diming people out of their own public lands. Even our coastal and ocean-based parks—Biscayne's turquoise waters, the Channel Islands' pristine marine sanctuaries, Virgin Islands' coral reefs—are now behind a paywall on days meant to honor service and justice.
Shockingly, people were not thrilled. The announcement sparked outrage across national, local, and grassroots media.
Senator Cortez-Masto wasn't having it. She pointed out that free entry days were designed to encourage public service and volunteer work, then introduced the Encouraging Public Service in Our National Parks and Public Land Act to codify MLK's Birthday, the first day of National Park Week, Juneteenth, Great American Outdoors Day, National Public Lands Day, and Veterans Day as fee-free days. You know, like they should be.
Let's remember: the campaign to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday took eight years (1975-1983). Eleven years after that, in 1994, it became a National Day of Service through the King Holiday and Service Act, championed by the late Representative John Lewis and Senator Harris Wofford—people who actually worked alongside Dr. King for civil rights. The National Day of Service was intentionally crafted to weave Dr. King's legacy into our national culture as "a day on, not a day off."
This was a multigenerational, hard-won victory. And we're not letting it get quietly dismantled because someone decided budget line items matter more than justice, service, and ensuring everyone—everyone—can access our mountains, forests, deserts, and yes, our ocean.