Salt Lake City, Utah – July 7, 2014 – Tread Lightly!, the nation’s leader in promoting responsible outdoor recreation through ethics education and stewardship programs, is kicking off its 25th year anniversary celebration as a non-profit in conjunction with a historic Land Rover charity auction fundraiser on eBay.com.

Land Rover North America will auction a fully restored 1990 Range Rover Great Divide Replica, and the proceeds of the charity auction will support Tread Lightly!. This vehicle will be auctioned on eBay Motors from August 4-14 at www.ebay.com/treadlightly.

The auction winner will receive the vehicle and an opportunity to be a guest of Land Rover on a nine-day adventure on the 2014 Great Divide Expedition in early September. The auctioned Range Rover will take part in the Expedition and will be delivered to the bidder following the end of the event.

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 Range Rover being auctioned is a restored replica of the vehicles that were used on the original Great Divide Expedition 25 years ago. This year’s donation, auction and expedition mark a significant anniversary for both Tread Lightly! and Land Rover.

“Land Rover is a founding partner that has strongly supported the Tread Lightly! organization, message and principles for decades,” said Lori McCullough, executive director for Tread Lightly!. “Tread Lightly! is proud of its partnership with Land Rover and is very excited to receive such a historic donation. All funds raised from the eBay charity auction will go to support Tread Lightly!’s efforts in protecting and enhancing recreation access and opportunities by promoting a conservation ethic.”

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 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.

The 25th anniversary Great Divide Expedition will cover nearly 1,000 miles of unpaved roads and 4×4 trails along a portion of the original Great Divide route. Throughout this expedition, participants will navigate narrow rocky trails with steep drop-offs and mountain passes over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).