Friends of the Red Desert
Bob Wick/BLM/Flickr
Friends of the Red Desert is a grassroots nonprofit organization led by Wyoming residents.
We seek to safeguard the Red Desert as a living crossroads of Western heritage, natural beauty, and wildlife—honoring sacred and historical sites, promoting responsible use, and preserving access for hunting, ranching, recreation, and solitude for generations to come.
Wyoming’s Red Desert is a Place of National Significance
The Red Desert is a vast, high elevation desert that is rich with the history, culture, scenic beauty, and wildlife of the American West.
The Crossroads of our Continent
The Red Desert is a wild and remote landscape at the crossroads of our continent, whose story has defined our nation. The Red Desert has been home to Indigenous people since time immemorial and served as a gateway for the nation’s continental expansion. It is a land with colorful buttes and badlands, iconic landmarks, and diverse habitats that support large herds of big game and many other species. It contains the largest living sand dunes complex in North America and is reportedly the largest unfenced area in the Lower 48. It is a working, nourishing landscape that has supported human use and travel for generations.
Our Roots….
The historic Atlantic City Mercantile, est.1893.
Friends of the Red Desert started in the 1980s from a group of “desert rats” who lived in Atlantic City, Wyoming and came together in their love of the Red Desert, and often met at the Atlantic City Mercantile.
The group grew more formal in later years and even hired full time staff for a while. Back then, it was a broad coalition of many groups. After about 2006, the group slowly disbanded.
The spirit of Friends of the Red Desert was rekindled in 2019, pulling together citizen leaders from around the region. In 2024 we incorporated as a nonprofit with the State of Wyoming and are moving forward to become a recognized independent 501(c)3 charitable organization.
Our group is a loose association of committed volunteers and we plan to continue in that spirit with a broad group of Advisory members, who provide valuable perspectives and expertise.
Collaboration and Coalition Building
Friends of the Red Desert strives to be a “big tent” organization that grows and learns from the input of the many people who love, work in, and use the Red Desert, while also honoring its natural, Indigenous, historic, and cultural connections.
In that commitment, a diverse group of citizen leaders gathered in 2021 at a ranch in the area for a 2 day planning retreat to consider the special characteristics of the Red Desert and identify our common values. Professor Steve Smutko with the University of Wyoming Haub School led this collaborative process, which set the stage for future outreach directions. Many of the value statements developed from this process are incorporated throughout this website.
We also invite guest speakers and different interests to present their perspectives about the Red Desert during our field trips. We are always learning.
Jason Baldes, Eastern Shoshone Tribal member, presenting before Governor Gordon.
The Hellyer Family ranches in the northern Red Desert
Join Us!
We want to hear from you.
What do you treasure about Wyoming’s majestic Red Desert?
Be part of our grassroots effort to ensure that the special values of the Desert continue for current and future generations.
Friends of the Red Desert is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Wyoming. Through donations to our fiscal sponsor, the Lander Community Foundation, you can provide a tax-deductible gift for Friends of the Red Desert. We welcome your support and please contact us for more information.