Outdoor Alliance

A new executive order "Make America Beautiful Again" promises to continue the country’s long history of land conservation. The stated goals of the EO are commendable, and if followed by policy and administrative action, would benefit our country's public lands and the outdoor recreation community. The order promises to “prioritize responsible conservation," but the only real action in the EO is to establish a commission that will advise the administration on how to conserve natural resources, clean water, and access to public lands. Adam Cramer, CEO of Outdoor Alliance, said “This executive order lays out a compelling vision that recognizes the value of public lands. Turning that vision into reality will depend on meaningful policy and administrative action—like reauthorizing the Legacy Restoration Fund and continuing to invest in stewardship and access.”

Earlier this month, Congress passed a massive budget reconciliation package, aka the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Thanks to advocacy from the outdoor recreation community—people who hike, climb, ride, paddle, hunt, and fish, public sell-off proposals were removed from the bill. Outdoor Alliance helped the public send nearly one million messages to Congress, a level of advocacy we've never seen before! Behind the scenes, our policy team, regional networks, and Grasstops Collective submitted testimony, met with key lawmakers, and provided maps showing how much recreation was at risk. “Our community made it clear that selling off our shared lands is a nonstarter—and lawmakers listened. But there’s more work ahead. We hope Congress will move toward better legislation that supports public lands, outdoor recreation, and the people who depend on these places,” said Adam Cramer, CEO of Outdoor Alliance. The outdoor community made a huge impact in this fight, stopping some of the worst provisions in their tracks. But we need to keep the pressure on! Take a moment to send a follow-up message to lawmakers—thank them for standing up against public land sell-offs, and remind them that the outdoors deserve better. https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.plnkd.in/g-xCWZrz

Last weekend, Outdoor Alliance California and our partners attended an event with Congressman Kevin Kiley (CA-03) where he announced joining the Public Lands Caucus, signaling his commitment to protecting access to public lands. The event came shortly after public land selloffs were removed from budget reconciliation, and the Congressman’s office was part of a broader, bipartisan effort to ensure that provision was removed. Outdoor Alliance works across the political spectrum to support public lands and waters. We’re grateful to Republican leaders in both the House and Senate who stood up to public land selloffs, ensuring that everyone has access to meaningful outdoor experiences. “Outdoor Alliance California will continue to work closely with Congressman Kiley and his staff to build support for public lands and waters and to advocate for the continued protection of the Yuba River and other watersheds in the district. There is deep appreciation amongst a broad group of community members who either manage, recreate, or live in the community that cares deeply about these landscapes,” said Theresa L. Lorejo-Simsiman, California Stewardship Director for American Whitewater.

Outdoor Alliance is pleased to share that we are one of this year’s awardees at American Alpine Club’s annual gala. We will be receiving the David R. Brower Conservation Award which celebrates our leadership and commitment to conservation and the preservation of mountains worldwide. For more than ten years, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. Our work has helped to permanently protect millions of acres of public land, secured $5.1 billion in funding for the outdoors, and converted more than 500,000 outdoor enthusiasts into outdoor advocates. Adam Cramer, our CEO will be accepting the award on our behalf. Adam has brought new sensibilities to conservation work that have resulted in millions of acres of protected landscapes, improved management for outdoor recreation, and hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts awakened to conservation and advocacy work. He is an avid whitewater kayaker and mountain biker, but is always on the lookout for a good skatepark. Learn more about this year’s awardees, and join the celebration:

Last month, the administration announced its intent to rescind the Roadless Rule. This would be devastating for backcountry recreation, public lands, as well as clean air and water, and climate resilience. The Roadless Rule protects 58 million acres of National Forests that span 42 states, and include some of the most iconic places in the country for climbing, hiking, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and paddling. “These are the landscapes where adventure is really possible and where you can go to truly be in awe of our National Forests. Attempting to roll back the Roadless Rule would be a short-sighted, and deeply unpopular assault on America’s public lands values,” said Louis Geltman, Vice President of Policy and Government Relations at Outdoor Alliance. Rescinding the Roadless Rule will require a full rulemaking process, and we will use that process to help educate the public and the administration about the importance of backcountry recreation. Learn more: https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.plnkd.in/gcBcFerD

Outdoor Alliance and Runners for Public Lands have been working in together to mobilize the trail running community to advocate for legislation and policy that ensures our public lands and waters are safe, healthy, and welcoming for all to enjoy. Last month, we gathered at TrailCon, a two-day event where we were able to share more about our collective efforts on advocating for public lands, and how the trail running community can become more involved in grassroots advocacy. We organized a panel discussion about protecting access to public lands for trail running races and the need for cross-jurisdiction collaboration, as well as how the trail running community can have an impact in helping to shape and influence policy during this critical time. During the event, we also crafted and sent nearly 250 messages to lawmakers about protecting and funding our nation’s public lands.

Our GIS work on public land sell offs was featured over the weekend on the Denver 7 news. "It was definitely shock and awe, seeing that first map, and I think that's what made it go viral so quickly," said Peter Horgan, GIS Manager at Outdoor Alliance. "We've got people very engaged, and it was all over the internet.” In just two weeks, our maps along with a successful social media campaign helped over 600,000 people write letters to their lawmakers asking them to not sell off America’s public lands. This is a level of advocacy we’ve never seen before, and a credit to all the different recreation types who came together to ultimately defeat the proposal over the weekend. "These are lands that are open to everyone, and as soon as they're gone, we're not getting them back," said Peter Horgan. ”This has been a fight for decades, and we continue to see wins."

BREAKING NEWS! The proposal to sell off America’s public lands has officially been removed from the Senate budget reconciliation bill! Millions of outdoor enthusiasts have spoke up about keeping public lands public in the last few weeks—and it’s your voice and your energy that made this happen. “Outdoor Alliance is pleased to see Senator Lee remove his provision to sell off public lands from the Senate budget reconciliation bill. We are grateful to the millions of outdoor enthusiasts who spoke up about keeping public lands public—this victory is because of your voices. We are also grateful to the lawmakers who spoke out to ensure that this country continues to protect public lands and waters for all Americans.”

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is now coming for your close-to-home recreation. Despite the resounding unpopularity of selling off public land, Senator Lee has introduced new legislation to sell off more than a million acres of public lands that are close to population centers, which would have a huge impact on local mountain biking, hiking, climbing, and trails, as well as motorized recreation and hunting and fishing spots. Outdoor Alliance has mapped some of the most significant recreation that could be sold off as a result of this bill. They include places like The American River in California, the Corrals Trails near Boise, The Matanuska River in Alaska, The Whole Enchilada ride in Moab, and Hartman Rocks in Gunnsion, Colorado. With the Senate starting to vote this weekend, it's crucial that we keep the pressure on and save public lands now!

The proposal to sell off up to 3.3 million acres of public lands has been removed from the Senate’s budget reconciliation bill—for now. The provision was removed due to a technicality. It failed the Senate’s “Byrd Bath,” a policy review that ensures reconciliation bills only include budget-related measures. But we’re not out of the woods yet! Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has already promised to revise the selloff proposal which will target public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) around “population centers,” places that many people rely on for everyday access to the outdoors. The fight is not over, and it’s critical we keep the pressure on before the Senate votes later this week. Lawmakers need to know that the outdoor community is still engaged, still paying attention, and ready to act again!