The Forgotten Lands Project began in 2020 with a mission to inspire appreciation, engagement, and protection of BLM-managed public lands through immersive storytelling, keynote talks, and guided camping experiences.
the enduring wild
A lyrical and visual exploration of California’s public wilds and the people and species bound to them.
It started with a campsite in the desert and grew into a five-year pilgrimage across the most overlooked wilderness in the West. The Enduring Wild blends travelogue, natural history, and hope into a testament to the land that belongs to us all.
“Spectacular…striking…a breathtaking tribute…” — Foreword
“A clarion call…” — LA Times
“A beautiful book, incredibly timely…” — Alta Journal
“A call to adventure...” — Kirkus
"The Enduring Wild is a call to look beyond the surface, embrace the deep connections that tie us to our public lands, and commit to safeguarding them for future generations." — QT Luong, author of Treasured Lands
Dispatches from across the American West
WRITER / PHOTOGRAPHER / GUIDE / SPEAKER
Josh Jackson is a writer and photographer whose work illuminates America’s most overlooked public lands—those managed by the Bureau of Land Management. He weaves storytelling and imagery to reveal the beauty, complexity, and vulnerability of these often misunderstood landscapes.
His work has appeared in High Country News, the Los Angeles Times, Adventure Journal, SFGATE, Modern Huntsman, and Backcountry Journal. He has also been a guest on numerous podcasts exploring nature, science, and conservation. His first book, The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California’s Public Lands (Heyday, 2025), is both a love letter to these landscapes and a meditation on belonging and reciprocity.
As founder of the Forgotten Lands Project, Josh extends this work beyond the page — through keynote addresses and by guiding camping trips with the USAL Project that connect people directly to these fragile and inspiring places.
He lives with his wife and three children in the heart of Los Angeles.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
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LA Times: 2/5/26
Part 1 in a series of essays for the LA Times, highlighting the forgotten highways of California and the public lands they run through. Beginning with Highway 127.
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High Country News: 10/10/25
An ode to the beauty and diversity of Chuckwalla National Monument. What we stand to lost if National Monuments fall.
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Adventure Journal: Issue 38
Across the Aisle, Across the Country. The incredible true story of Clement Miller, Donald Clausen, and the fight to save the King Range National Conservation Area.
