United By Nature, United By Music: Nature Is Nonpartisan’s Benji Backer On Why Protecting The Planet Shouldn’t Be Political

By Benji Backer, CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan

It may not seem possible today, but Americans once shared a deep pride in the environment. Until the 1990s, over 80% of Americans identified as environmentalists. Whether they spent summers on a lake, on the ocean, in the mountains, or across open prairie, conservation and natural landscapes united people across geography and background. That shared concern is how we achieved some of the most significant environmental milestones in history, from the Clean Air Act to the Endangered Species Act.

Today, that unity has eroded. Exploitative algorithms, divisive media, and self-interested politics have turned the natural world into just another partisan battleground. As our society becomes more siloed, nature is paying the price. We’re seeing record heatwaves, worsening wildfires, funding backlogs, and declining air and water quality. The polarization of environmental issues is a major reason our leaders fail to act.

At the same time, Americans are exhausted by division. People are looking for hope, connection, and a shared future. The divide we’ve inherited is manufactured and reinforced by forces that benefit from keeping us apart. The antidote isn’t more argument—it’s genuine connection. The kind that happens when people come together in real places and experience something authentic. As an outdoorsman, I’ve never heard someone turn politics into a wedge on a hiking trail, a chairlift, or in a duck blind.

Consider a place like Cody, Wyoming—a rugged town east of Yellowstone. The people who gather there reflect the diversity of the American landscape: a rancher working land passed down for generations, a farmer attuned to every subtle shift in soil and season, a hunter who knows migration patterns by heart, a skier watching the snowpack shrink, a hiker simply seeking clarity outdoors. They don’t agree on everything, but they share something deeper: a connection to the land. That’s not a political coalition—it’s a human one, and it’s exactly what the environmental movement needs to become again.

It’s also what a concert crowd looks like. Thousands of people from different backgrounds, with different beliefs, all moved by the same song at the same moment. Nature and music work in similar ways. They don’t demand agreement—they invite presence. They cut through noise and replace it with something real. In those moments, it’s nearly impossible to remain divided.

That kind of shared, unfiltered experience is increasingly rare, and it’s exactly what a fractured country needs. It’s also where movements begin.

A few weeks ago, we launched Going Public, a campaign grounded in a simple truth: public lands belong to all Americans, and our leaders should treat them that way. Like a concert crowd, Going Public creates a space for people from all walks of life to show up for places they care about. By claiming a free share, participants signal support for protecting and funding public lands.

From hunters to climbers, tribal elders to trail runners, veterans to fly fishers, nearly every American has a personal stake in these landscapes. Their reasons may differ, but their connection is shared. Public lands remain one of the last truly common threads in American life. The coalition to protect them already exists—it just needs to reconnect.

That’s why Nature Is Nonpartisan and its United By Nature campaign are partnering with The Lumineers to celebrate America’s conservation legacy and help shape its future. The upcoming event in Cody (with details to be announced) will bring people together in a place where ranching, farming, hunting, fishing, hiking, and skiing all coexist—bound by a shared appreciation for the land.

This is what the country needs right now. Not another fight or wedge issue, but something rooted in common ground. The environmental movement, while well-intentioned, has narrowed over time. It became associated with one side, and in doing so, lost the broad base of support that once made it so powerful. When 80% of Americans stood behind the same idea, meaningful change was possible.

The next era of conservation must be bigger. It must be grounded in the land itself and inclusive of the people who live on it, work it, and depend on it. Protecting it isn’t partisan—it’s fundamental. Done right, this kind of movement doesn’t just safeguard landscapes; it helps rebuild a sense of shared purpose in a divided country.

Hope grows people coming together in pursuit of something larger than themselves. The music industry has a unique ability to reach audiences that traditional conservation efforts often cannot. Concerts create shared moments that cut through division and remind us what connection feels like.

The land needs advocates who reflect the full spectrum of America. This movement needs partners who know how to bring people together and inspire action. Music and nature offer that opportunity. They remind us that, despite our differences, we are still capable of showing up for the same things.

Uniting Americans around both may be our best chance to move forward—together.

Visit https://natureisnonpartisan.org for more information.