Conservation & Advocacy

Today is National Nature Photography Day. Mountaineers Books and, especially our conservation imprint, Braided River, works with a number of amazingly talented and dedicated nature photographers. These folks frequently spend long hours alone in the wild capturing images that the rest of us would never see without them. These images have a huge impact on how we come to understand and feel about nature. Often their photos are the only reference we have for faraway places, and they move us to care about those environments. Nature photographers are on the leading edge of connecting us emotionally to the world that we depend on for all of our physical needs and for which degradation in a faraway place  affects the place where we live. Read more…

When is a group in the outdoors too big? Too small? The answer, of course, is subjective, and also depends on the place and the activity. The Mountaineers Outdoor Ethics Policy encourages leaders to choose a maximum party size based on seven important factors. Read more…

Happy World Otter Day! Organized by the International Otter Survival Fund, this day aims to raise awareness of the 13 otter species worldwide and the threats they face. Locally, the Woodland Park Zoo is looking to understand the behavior of PNW otters and you can help! Read more…

This June we welcome the Heather Hansen, the author of Wildfire: On the Front Lines with Station 8  from Mountaineers Books. She will take us on a journey through her experience after embedding with Boulder, CO wildland firefighters and share her lessons on what more we can do to help prevent such devastating wildfires. Read more…

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we're blessed with some of the most beautiful and accessible parks, forests, and refuges in the nation. Many Mountaineers understand the value of these wild places and set aside time to give back to our public lands.  Read more…

The Mountaineers joined partners and professional climbers from across the nation to champion our public lands at the third annual Climb the Hill event in Washington D.C. Each year, we unite as one climbing community to talk with our nation's leaders about the power of public lands.  Read more…

The Mountaineers is incredibly fortunate to be located in a state with more than 12,000 miles of trails. On the first Saturday of June, communities across to country come together to celebrate National Trails Day. The Mountaineers invites you to help us celebrate our trails by joining a trail work party in some of our favorite places!  This year we have four highlighted stewardship opportunities to help you get involved, and many more all year round. Read more…

As a new-ish addition to The Mountaineers staff team, I have been looking for opportunities to get to know the complex interlocking departments that make the organization work. I work in Member Services, but recently had an opportunity to get the inside scoop on what it’s like to work on the conservation and advocacy. On January 25, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a day in my hometown of Olympia, Washington, to speak with State Representatives and Senators about the importance of public lands in our state. Read more…

“We need a book. But first you need to see this place.” So began my conversation with Debbie Miller and Hugh Rose in a bar in Fairbanks on my first day back to civilization after an all-too-brief rafting trip in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Debbie, Hugh, and I had collaborated before. Through numerous past publishing and outreach efforts we had strived to prevent oil drilling in America’s Arctic. This time our discussions revolved around 2.1 million acres of the Chugach National Forest in southwestern Alaska proposed as a wilderness study area. This stemmed from the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) passed in 1980, the largest lands conservation act in U.S. history and the law that has defined much of Alaska’s public lands debates. The fate of this wilderness study area established in 1980 was expected to be resolved in a few years, yet it is still in limbo decades later. Read more…

The Olympia Branch is challenging you to dedicate one day (or more!) to stewarding our public lands.  This challenge is a great way to give back to our outdoor playgrounds and meet a vibrant community of volunteers. All Mountaineers members are welcome to join - regardless of branch affiliation. Read more…

Here’s a dilemma: How does a publishing company that is deeply invested in advocating for environmental conservation deal with the fact that the product they sell relies on using trees? This is something that we here at Mountaineers Books are intensely aware of. Approximately four billion trees are cut down every year around the world just to produce paper products, accounting for about 35 percent of the total harvest. Even though 2.3 billion seedlings are planted each year in the US alone, the fact remains that the timber and paper industries, and by extension the publishing industry, have a significant impact on the environment. Read more…

Did you know that Washington state is home to more than 25,000 black bears and two small populations of grizzlies? Spring is a great time to explore the natural beauty of our state and it’s also prime time to practice your bear awareness skills. Bears are highly active this time of year, waking from hibernation and looking for food. Read more…

Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22, and we have several ways for you to show your appreciation for Mother Earth this weekend. Join us for a stewardship activity, train to be a trail crew leader, and help us champion our low impact skills while you’re getting outside! Check out all the event details below. Read more…

On April 12, the Department of the Interior announced that vehicle entrance fees will increase by $5 at 117 locations managed by the National Park Service.

The uptick in cost is a drastic reduction from the Department of the Interior’s original proposal to increase vehicle entrance fees to $70 at the nation’s 17 most visited parks – a price surge that would have nearly tripled the cost at parks like Olympic and Mount Rainier, which currently charge $25. Read more…

Morgan Sjogren’s new guidebook, The Best Bears Ears National Monument Hikes, came out in January, less than two months after the current administration reduced its boundaries by 85 percent. Published by Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) Press, Morgan’s book is the only guidebook published for this region. But Morgan, a writer, adventurer, and competitive trail runner, fell in love with Bears Ears while running in it and wanted to encourage others to explore this region, too. We asked her five questions  about the book and the Monument. Mountaineers Books is the worldwide distributor of CMC Press books. Read more…

 The Mountaineers are proud to present the BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. This May we welcome Pacific Crest Trail guidebook authors, Eli Boschetto, Shawntè Salabert, Tami Asars, and Philip Kramer to share their adventures documenting the 2,650 miles of the PCT. Read more…

Last week, lawmakers passed the omnibus spending bill, a massive $1.3 trillion package that determines how the federal government allocates funds. Several key advancements for our public lands are among the far-reaching provisions of the bill. Protecting, and funding, our public lands is integral to our experiences as outdoor enthusiasts. Read more…

Joe Riis is a wildlife biologist turned photojournalist and filmmaker on the cutting edge of explorations of heretofore unknown animal migrations in Yellowstone’s expansive landscapes—within, and outside, the protection of the park. His first book Yellowstone Migrationswas recently published by Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books. Read more…

UPDATE: The Roadless Rule exemption was not included in the omnibus spending bill! Thank you for speaking out to defend our wild landscapes. This will likely not be the last time we need to protect the Roadless Rule, and by lending your voice, you put this on lawmakers’ radars – now and moving forward.

Lawmakers are setting plans in motion to subvert the Roadless Rule, a key conservation tool used to protect our wild backcountry. Read more…

Each year, the Seattle Naturalist Committee provides a lecture series designed to delve into phenomena of the natural world. The events are open to everyone and no registration is required - just pay $5 at the door. Attendance is free for members of the Naturalist Study Group. Check out this season's talks! Read more…

Last week, the Public Lands Heist paid a surprise visit to Washington State in the form of an amendment to Senate Bill 6140. Today, after hearing from hundreds of concerned Washingtonians, the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee will remove the bill’s disconcerting public lands provisions. Read more…

The Mountaineers are proud to present the BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. This March we welcome photographer Joe Riis. Read more…

Mount Rainier National Park has a new leader: Chip Jenkins, a 31-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), will serve as the park’s superintendent beginning in mid-March. He takes over for Randy King, who retired in January. Read more…

The recent resignation of nearly the entire National Park System (NPS) Advisory Board raises serious concerns about the Department of the Interior, the office in charge of overseeing about 500 million acres of our national public lands. Read more…

The Liberty Bell Group, a cluster of five granite spires at Washington Pass outside Mazama, is home to some of the most popular and iconic alpine climbing in Washington State, including classics like the Beckey Route on Liberty Bell and the West Face of North Early Winter Spire. Over the last decade, the area has become increasingly popular among alpine climbers. This rapidly expanding use has led to deteriorating trail conditions, severe erosion, and unsafe approaches to and from the climbs. Read more…

You’ve likely heard the news: the President signed a proclamation to shrink two of our national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase Escalante, located in southeast Utah. In total, the proclamation cuts 2 million acres from the monuments. So what do these drastic reductions mean for The Mountaineers, public lands, and the outdoor experience? Read more…

As you’ve probably heard, the president recently signed a proclamation to drastically reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah. This unprecedented action undermines the 1906 Antiquities Act, the law granting presidents the authority to create national monuments to protect cultural, natural and scientific resources. Read more…

Northern Pygmy-Owls must enlarge their territories in the winter when prey becomes less abundant. Small mammals are harder to find, reptiles and amphibians are in hibernation, and many small birds have migrated. And so these owls often move downslope to places along waterways or near bird feeders, where there is a greater concentration of passerines and rodents. Read more…

Last month, we invited you to join us in contributing funds to save a section of the Lake Serene Trail from logging. This month we’re happy to report the goal was met! Together with Forterra and other organizations we raised $275,000 to purchase the land from the timber company, ensuring that the area is conserved and recreational access is never again restricted. Read more…

What happens if visiting national parks becomes prohibitively expensive? Fewer people have the opportunity to fall in love with and become champions of wild places – and our public lands suffer as a result. Read more…