The Public Lands Interpretive Association (PLIA) is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit educational organization whose mission is to inspire and educate the public about the natural and cultural heritage resources of America’s public lands.
Incorporated in 1981 and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, PLIA operates bookstores in visitor centers and other facilities of the Bureau of Land Management, the USDA Forest Service and the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The Association’s sales outlets are located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. PLIA also provides visitor information and concierge services to the Valles Caldera National Preserve and operates campgrounds in Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. At www.publiclands.org, PLIA offers recreational information on all public lands in the Western states and an educational slide show on the history of public lands.
In the summer of 2002 Public Lands Interpretive Association partnered with the National Geographic Society, federal and state land management agencies, and the private sector to conduct the first ever Canada to Mexico expedition whose route stayed entirely on public lands. Details of the expedition, including photos and journal entries, can be found at www.americanfrontiers.net
Public Lands Interpretive Association initiated the Public Lands Information Center project in response to demand for a single source of information about recreation and land use on all public lands in a state, regardless of managing agency. We realize that when you have a destination or an activity in mind, your concern is to find out where to go, when to go, what to do, and how much it will cost. But up until now, getting those answers often meant an endless goose chase of contacting government agencies and trying to pinpoint the correct agency, department, or office.
The Public Lands Information Center was developed to cut the red tape for you. We offer all you need to know about visitor facilities, surrounding areas, appropriate maps and guides, and the rules and regulations for each area. If you need more information than you get from the site descriptions, check our bookstore, our link pages, or email our staff. If you need to contact the managing agency for additional permits or licenses, we can put you in touch with the right person, and save you time and headaches.
News
Celebrating 10th Anniversary of American Frontiers
14 Aug 2012
The Public Lands Interpretive Association is recognizing the anniversary of the historic American Frontiers trek by revisiting highlights from the route, which blazed a trail from Mexico to Canada entirely on public lands.
This trail incorporates vastly different landscapes, from low-lying desert through subarctic areas. Trekkers used every possible kind of transportation to travel the trail, including backpacking, horseback riding, motor boating, canoeing, mountain biking, and driving ATVs, dual sport motorcycles and four-wheel drive utility vehicles.
Check out our Facebook entries as well as the home page of publiclands.org to learn more about the continuing value of the public lands. on this route.
Online Public Lands Information Centers are operated by the Public Lands Interpretive Association, a non-profit, educational organization, in cooperation with federal and state land management agencies.
