September 22, 2014 – Tread Lightly! (http://treadlightly.org), a leading national non-profit advocating for recreational access to public lands, has received more than $55,000 from a Land Rover donation and charity eBay auction.

This was the largest single donation in Tread Lightly!’s history, and the much needed funds will be immediately put to use to keep trails open for public use through critical Tread Lightly! programs like Restoration for Recreation, Respected Access is Open Access, and the RIDE ON Designated Routes campaigns.

Land Rover North America, one of Tread Lightly!’s founding partners of nearly 25 years, auctioned a fully restored 1990 Range Rover Great Divide Expedition replica on eBay earlier this month to raise the money. The auction served in part to kick-off a 25th anniversary celebration for both Land Rover’s original Great Divide Expedition and Tread Lightly!’s founding as a national non-profit.

Shannon and Angie Davis, who won the auction, are longtime Land Rover enthusiasts and off-roaders who support the Tread Lightly! message. “Angie and I love the adventure that comes with getting off-road and the opportunities that are only available because we have access to so many wonderful public lands,” Mr. Davis said. “Thanks to Land Rover for the opportunity to enjoy a piece of history, and thanks to Tread Lightly! for working to keep our trails open.”

Mr. Davis and his wife both participated in the recent 25th anniversary running of the Great Divide Expedition hosted by Land Rover. They also received honorary Tread Lightly! memberships.

“Tread Lightly! thanks Land Rover and eBay for their continued support, and sends a huge thanks and congratulations to Shannon and Angie Davis for their generous bid,” said Lori McCullough, executive director for Tread Lightly!.

Launched as a public awareness program in the mid-1980s by the U.S. Forest Service, Tread Lightly! evolved into a 501(c)(3) foundation in 1990 to cut red tape and initiate public-private collaboration.

Today, Tread Lightly! is viewed as a credible, apolitical organization delivering critically needed, cost-effective solutions to today’s most pressing needs surrounding recreation issues. The nonprofit is a member-based organization with more than 40,000 individual members and supporters and more than 80 official partners.

“Moving towards Tread Lightly’s 25th anniversary, we briefly look back and appreciate the tremendous impact that consistent education and stewardship programs have had on outdoor recreation over the past quarter of a century,” McCullough said. “Those efforts are only possible through support of partners like Land Rover, and as Tread Lightly! continues to grow ever stronger as a member-based organization, the positive impacts will also continue to grow.”

A piece of off-road history, Land Rover’s inaugural Great Divide Expedition in the fall of 1989 helped launch Tread Lightly! as a national non-profit focused on fostering an ethic of good stewardship to proactively protect recreation access to America’s lands and waterways. The auctioned Range Rover is a restored replica of the vehicles that were used on the original Great Divide Expedition 25 years ago.

Over the past few weeks, the 25th anniversary Great Divide Expedition covered more than 1,000 miles of unpaved roads and 4×4 trails along a portion of the original Great Divide route. Throughout this expedition, participants navigated narrow rocky trails with steep drop-offs and mountain passes over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).