Image: Ben Ducach As the country moves toward a clean energy future, land management agencies like the BLM are planning for where renewable energy should—and should not—be developed. For more than ten years, the BLM has used the 2012 Western Solar Plan to determine where it is appropriate to develop industrial-scale solar energy. Now, the BLM is updating its solar plan as part of a country-wide effort to increase renewable energy production while also protecting lands and waters (this was part of a 2021 executive order on climate). Until April 17, the BLM is accepting feedback on its proposed ..read more

This article written in collaboration with IMBA Today, the outdoor recreation community is one of the most powerful voices advocating for the outdoors in Washington, D.C. But it wasn’t always that way. More than a decade ago, human-powered outdoor recreationists, including mountain bikers, climbers, skiers, paddlers, and hikers, were all working separately on advocacy issues like defending the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Over time, they began to work more closely, joining voices and realizing how much more influence they had with lawmakers as a unified group. Through that work ..read more

Photo credit: Patrick Hendry This week, the House is expected to vote on the EXPLORE Act, a first-of-its-kind recreation policy package that will improve outdoor recreation on public lands and waters. Millions of Americans get outside on public lands and waters each year. Outdoor recreation is growing in popularity, and there are many opportunities to improve how public lands and waters are managed to enhance outdoor experiences. Take Action The EXPLORE Act is a bipartisan package of outdoor recreation policy introduced by Congressman Westerman (R-AR) and Congressman Grijalva (D-AZ), the chai ..read more

Image: Patrick Hendry Appropriations, the process of funding the government agencies including the Department of Interior, the Forest Service, and other public land managers, is a reasonable metric for how functional Congress is. We’ve written before about the way appropriations is “supposed” to go, which is a year-long process that includes hearings, a “symbolic” budget from the President, and then wraps up in September with a vote on funding levels for the government for the following year. This March—halfway through the current fiscal year—Congress just passed appropriations bills, so late ..read more

Photo credit: Holly Mandarich Outdoor Alliance recently launched an advocacy network and training program designed to build the power of “grasstops” leaders who can advocate for public land and water conservation, climate change, and outdoor recreation. The Advocacy Network will work with grasstops advocates to build relationships with policy makers to advocate for conservation priorities. Grasstops leaders are unique for their meaningful voice in their communities, whether they are in business, nonprofit, or local government. They are the unofficial mayors—the ones who know everyone at the c ..read more

2024 is Outdoor Alliance’s ten year anniversary! Over the last ten years, outdoor recreation has grown into one of the most powerful forces in conservation. Outdoor recreationists are deeply connected to the places they love, and that connection fuels our conservation efforts. This passion has empowered a new generation of advocates to get civically engaged and to move the needle on conservation efforts. And lawmakers are listening! Over the last ten years, we have notched historic bipartisan conservation wins, including the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, wh ..read more

Washington, D.C. (March 13, 2024) — In the last 10 years, Outdoor Alliance has helped people who recreate outside under their own power become a unified and powerful political force — one that has protected 40 million acres of land and secured $5.1 billion in funding for public lands and waters. Through its work, more than 100,000 people have organized and advocated for better land, water, and climate protection, management, and funding. Today, Outdoor Alliance released its 10-year anniversary report and anniversary video, which looks back at the last decade of “conservation powered by outdoo ..read more

Photo credit: Anthony Cupaiuolo Since he was elected in 2022, Congressman Kevin Kiley (CA-03) and our Outdoor Alliance California team have been meeting to advance policies on behalf of the human-powered outdoor recreation community. Winter outdoor recreation plays a pivotal role in California’s 3rd district, which is home to world class resorts such as Palisades Tahoe in Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierra, and the jagged peaks of backcountry skiing, split boarding, snow play, and snowshoeing on the Plumas National Forest. Last week, Outdoor Alliance California and Tahoe Backc ..read more

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest This article was first published on The Mountaineers. When the Pacific Northwest “Timber Wars” reached a boiling point in the early 1990s, federal agencies turned to scientists to find a solution. The result was the creation of the U.S. Forest Service’s landmark 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. For nearly 30 years, the plan has attempted to strike a balance between conservation and timber industry interests on federally-managed lands in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. But threats and pressures to our forests have changed dramatically since the plan’s ..read more

Kate Rutherford climbing at Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado. Photo credit: Chris Noble. Outdoor recreation is one of the primary ways Americans come to know their public lands and develop a stewardship ethic. There is a long history of Americans taking part in human-powered recreation on public lands, including our country’s 111 million acres of Wilderness. Hiking, backpacking, camping, backcountry skiing, rock climbing, paddling, and mountaineering are some of the many ways people experience and enjoy Wilderness. Right now, new proposed policies from the U.S. Forest Service and the ..read more