Thank You for Making the Western Wilderness Conference 2010 a Great Success! Please accept the sincere, ongoing, and rather awed thanks from the Co-Chairs of Western Wilderness Conference 2010, Kristi Davis and Vicky Hoover, and from everyone on the planning committee, for your vital involvement in the conference. In a most fundamental way, we couldn't have done it without you!  Your assistance in getting the message out to your members gave us the remarkable number of over 550 participants and made our conference known throughout the West.  And the financial support YOU GAVE was absolutely essential in enabling the conference to happen as it did. Kimi Kodani Hill. Photo by Mitch Tobias. With your participation we were able to achieve the goals embodied by our conference theme: New Aims, New Allies!  We offered a vast array of session topics, covering everything from economics to the arts, from Canada to the Mexican... Read More

Thru-hiker and Patagonia employee Adam Bradley is putting his talents to work on an unusual project: He has teamed up with the Nevada Wilderness Project  (NWP) to hike the 501-mile route of a renewable energy line in eastern Nevada. Called the Southwest Intertie Project--or SWIP line--it will run between Jerome County, Idaho and just north of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Construction of the line will begin this summer.  Adam is about one-third of the way into his journey; he is walking north to south and will complete the "SWIP Trip," as they're calling it, in about 15 days. He is averaging about 30-33 miles per day.

Adam is one of the most accomplished thru-hikers in the U.S. He and Scott Williamson hold the record for the fastest Pacific Crest Trail hike, finishing the 2,655 miles of the PCT in 65 days, 9 hours and 58 minutes, averaging 40.5 miles per day. Adam lives and works in Nevada at Patagonia's distribution center in Reno.  You can read all about the SWIP Trip and Adam's progress on the Nevada Wilderness Project's blog: http://www.wildnevada.org/blog.html

Think globally, act locally. That's what our friends at Canada Goose did last week. The company organized an Earth Day bake sale that raised $250 for The Conservation Alliance. W'ell put those funds to good use. Thanks, Canada Goose, for thinking of us on Earth Day!

Our Point Goose Kevin Spreekmeester made lemon bars.

We are currently working towards the purchase of Index Town Wall. Access to this iconic climbing crag was threatened due to the land owners desire to sell the property. Our goal is raise 300k to purchase and do general improvements to the property. Thanks to the generous support of the Access Fund, Conservation Alliance, many local outdoor retailers/companies and private donors, we have been able to raise over 185k towards our goal of saving this climbing resource for future generations.... Read More

We at The Conservation Alliance are THRILLED to announce that our guest speaker at the Summer 2010 Conservation Alliance Breakfast is historian Douglas Brinkley. Brinkley is one of our most renowned historians, and a prolific writer. He's written or edited books about notable people ranging from Teddy Roosevelt and Rosa Parks to Ronald Reagan and Hunter S. Thompson. He worked with Spike Lee on the documentary When the Levees Broke, about Hurrican Katrina. And President Obama invited him to the White House shortly after the inauguration to discuss history and conservation. Brinkley's talk will trace the arc of conservation in America from Teddy Roosevelt to the modern effort to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Don't miss this one! Wednesday, August 4, 7-9 AM at The Marriott in Salt Lake City. Open to the public.

Click here for more information.

  The goal of our current Conservation Alliance campaign is to win federal Wild & Scenic River designation for 112 miles of the lower Salmon River, downstream from Long Tom Bar (the boundary of the existing Wild & Scenic reach) to the Salmon's confluence with the Snake River. We seek this designation to:Protect water quality and wildlife in a river corridor threatened by mining activities. Protect critical habitat and migration corridors for salmon, steelhead, bull trout and white sturgeon. And, protect recreation opportunities in the watershed.Securing Wild & Scenic River designations for the lower Salmon River will prohibit the construction of new dams and diversions in this reach of river forever, give conservationists and managing agencies new tools to help enforce sound conservation practices and protect recreation opportunities, and give designated river a higher "profile," which hopefully will encourage better stewardship by all river users.... Read More

Longtime Conservation Alliance member Eastern Mountain Sports will hold its annual Spring Club Day Event on April 23-24. The sale is open to members of local outdoor clubs, troops, and nonprofit organizations who will receive 25 percent off all EMS Brand products, and receive great deals on your favorite brands. We are honored that EMS will contribute 1 percent of sales during the two-day event to The Conservation Alliance. So, those of you near an EMS store, we hope you'll participate and know that your purchase supports our work to save North America's last wild places.

A delegation of representatives from Conservation Alliance member companies spent several days in Washington DC meeting with Congressional offices about the importance of protecting Wilderness areas in California. The group also spent a day meeting with key offices urging stronger funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The group, pictured above with Representative Mary Bono-Mack, included Conrad Anker (The North Face), Nicole Bassett (prAna), Hans Cole (Patagonia), and John Sterling (The Conservation Alliance). In meetings, the delegation talked about how important protected public lands are to the outdoor industry and its customers. Legislation has been introduce to protect lands in California Desert, and in Northern San Diego County. Projects are also emerging to save public lands in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles, and in the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The group also had an interesting meeting with Colorado Senator Mark Udall (pictured above), who enjoyed trading stories with Conrad about their respective climbs on 8,000-meter peaks. Senator Udall summitted Kanchenjunga in 1990, while Conrad has twice topped out on Mt. Everest, in 1999 and 2007.

Photo © Matt Leidecker

This week, Conservation Alliance member company Mountain Khakis and grantee Save Our Wild Salmon kicked off the "We Love The Snake River!" photo contest.

So why the Snake River?

From the Save Our Wild Salmon blog:

Our favorite? We love the rugged Snake River. Its headwaters begin in the wildlands of Wyoming, fed by meltwater from the Tetons, and its waters flow through the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and the Palouse prairies of Eastern Washington before feeding into the mighty Columbia River.

But what makes the Snake River even more impressive? It is home to the legendary Snake River sockeye. Snake River sockeye have the most epic migration path of any salmon on Earth — swimming more than 900 miles inland and climbing 7,000 feet in elevation to spawn in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.

There are not many issues today that people can agree on. But for 20 years, a diverse coalition of commercial, sport and recreational fishing groups, outdoor industry businesses, conservation organizations, and clean energy and taxpayer advocates have joined forces to save an icon of the American West — Snake River salmon and the waters they return to each year.

But we’re sure you’ve got your favorite river; a pristine, wild waterway where you love to play and celebrate the outdoors. Maybe it’s right down the road from your house, or it’s on the other side of the world, a river where you experienced your most memorable travel moment. It might even be a river watershed that you spend time volunteering to protect. Wherever it is, we want to see it!

From SNEWS:

From now until April 30th, river-rats can submit a photo of their favorite river and enter the chance to WIN a highly-coveted pair of Mountain Khakis® Snake River Pants. SOS will post one picture a week on their blog and will be giving away MK swag throughout the contest as well.

Entering is easy! To submit your picture, upload the image (s) to the Save Our Wild Salmon Flickr Pool. Make sure your photo has a title and a description of why it's your favorite river. We look forward to seeing your work and the rivers that you love!

The Conservation Alliance and member company Filson co-hosted an event at the Filson retail store in Portland to raise awareness about the campaign to protect 18,000 acres of Wilderness along the Wild and Scenic John Day River in Oregon. Senator Ron Wyden, pictured above with Alliance Executive Director John Sterling, has introduced legislation to protect the Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness areas. The Senator was on hand to give a rousing speech about the importance of protecting Oregon's wild treasures. After Senator Wyden's comments, the event featured a presentation by Brent Fenty of Oregon Natural Desert Association, a Conservation Alliance grantee leading the effort to protect these areas.

A good crowd of people was on hand to learn from ONDA, and to thank Senator Wyden for his leadership on protecting Wilderness in Oregon.

Click here for more information about the Cathedral Rock Horse Heaven Wilderness proposal.

Send Your Comments Today to President ObamaTell President Obama that EPA must require reductions in coal plant air pollution that will benefit people and our national parks. The deadline for submitting comments is May 7, 2010.Tell me more... Read More

This week, the Conservation Alliance granted $400,000 to 15 organizations. With the strong support of our member companies, we are looking forward to a year of more conservation victories!

Protecting mountains in Appalachia from mountaintop removal, to saving a climbing wall in Washington for future generations, and working to remove four dams on the Lower Snake River, our member companies stepped it up this season to protect the wild places we love. Thank you!

And congratulations to the passionate and dedicated folks working hard on the ground to ensure we have free-flowing rivers, wild mountains and clean oceans to explore! Please see below and read more about these great causes!

Adirondack Mountain Club (Lake George, NY)  $25,000
Save Allegheny State Park - To protect Allegheny State Park from proposed hydro-fracking mining by purchasing sub-surface mineral rights by the state, or by designating the area a Park Preserve.

 

 

 

Appalachian Mountain Club (Boston, MA)  $25,000
Campaign to Protect and Promote Maine's 100 mile Wilderness Region - To protect at least 60,000 acres of new conservation lands adjacent to 66,500 acres of existing AMC conservation lands in the 100-Mile Wilderness Region of Maine.

 

 

Appalachian Voices (Boone, NC) $35,000
Stop Mountaintop Removal Campaign - To protect some of America's most diverse forests and rivers from the devastating practice of mountaintop removal mining by passing a law while fighting ongoing mining permit by permit until the practice can be outlawed.

 

 

California Wilderness Coalition (Oakland, CA)    $25,000
California Desert and San Gabriel Mountains Wilderness Campaigns- To pass legislation protecting up to 1.6 million acres of public land in California's desert and San Gabriel Mountains.

 

 

Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society - Yukon (Whitehorse, Yukon)  $35,000
Peel River Watershed Campaign - To secure strong protection for all or most of the Peel watershed, with significant First Nations participation in long term policymaking and management.

 

 

Grand Canyon Trust (Flagstaff, AZ)  $30,000
Grand Canyon Uranium Mining Campaign - To protect one million acres around the Grand Canyon from uranium exploration and mining through legislation or by securing a 20-year mineral withdrawal from the Interior Department.

 

 

Idaho Rivers United (Boise, ID) $25,000
Lower Salmon Wild & Scenic Campaign - To permanently protect 112 miles of the Lower Salmon River in Idaho as a federally designated Wild and Scenic River.

 

 

 

Montana Wilderness Association (Helena, MT) $25,000
Montana Forests Campaign - To designate 670,000 acres of new wilderness throughout Montana, thus setting the stage for the Rocky Mountain Front, Scotchman Peaks, Great Burn, and many other deserving landscapes to be designated in the future.  

 

 

Our Ocean (Portland, OR) $30,000
Oregon Marine Heritage Campaign - To establish a coast-wide network of at least six marine reserves and protected areas in Oregon waters to ensure that this coastal legacy will be here for future generations of Oregonians.

 

   

Rivers Without Borders (Juneau, AK)  $20,000
Safeguarding the Taku Watershed Campaign - To protect the Taku River Watershed from proposed mining developments that would diminish this virtually pristine watershed and its abundant wild salmon.

 

 

Save Our Wild Salmon (Spokane, WA)  $25,000
Columbia and Snake River Campaign - To restore wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers by removing the lower Snake dams, and implementing a full spill/flow regime through Columbia River dams.

 

 

Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition (Asheville, NC) $30,000
Tennessee Wilderness Campaign - To secure permanent Wilderness protection for at least 18,000 acres in the Cherokee National Forest for outdoor recreation, biodiversity protection, climate change buffering, headwaters protection and wildlife migration.

 

 

Washington Climbers Coalition (Seattle, WA) $15,000
Index Lower Town Wall Acquisition Campaign - To purchase the Index Lower Town Wall with property improvements complete, management by the Washington State Parks Department in place, and climbing access secured for future generations.

 

 

Wilderness Support Center (Durango, CO)  $30,000
San Juan Mountains Wilderness Campaigns - To permanently protect up to 200,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado through wilderness and other conservation designations, specifically through the enactment of the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act and the campaign to protect the Hermosa Creek watershed outside of Durango.

 

Winter Wildlands Alliance (Boise, ID)  $25,000
Quiet Winter Recreation Campaign - To permanently protect Yellowstone National Park's magical and fragile winter ecosystem  from the noise and exhaust of snowmobiles and, and to secure balanced winter use plans for Mount Jefferson, Togwotee Pass and Tumalo Mountain.