Conservation & Advocacy

At The Mountaineers, we know the power of nature to restore our souls and inspire our spirits. Read more…

I have tried to look away from the birds. I know it’s possible. People can manage their whole lives birdless, or the next thing to it, hearing them only as background music to more important human events. In art and film they are regularly used as interchangeable decorations. When I glance around the movie theater nobody else seems bothered by the European Jackdaw that flits across what is supposed to be North Carolina, for example, or the circling movie eagle that screams with the unmistakable voice of a Red-tailed Hawk. Read more…

 Perhaps you know that about 98% of Mt. Rainier National Park is designated wilderness: “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man.”  Away from roads and camps, many Mountaineers love to explore and have solitude without the presence of human development. Do you care deeply about how that outstanding wilderness area is managed? Read more…

Three Fingers is, quite possibly, the most exceptional Grange Hall style L-4 lookout cabin ever built; it was, most certainly, built in the most impossible location.  Read more…

Some of our country's most iconic outdoor areas, from San Juans National Monument in Washington State to places like Giant Sequoia and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, are designated through the Antiquities Act. This Act gives the President authority to protect natural, cultural, or scientific features through the creation of a National Monument designation. We're concerned about legislation recently introduced to limit its effectiveness. Read more…

This book is about a new way of looking at the world. Read more…

As Mountaineers, we have accessed and experienced some of the most remote areas of this region. Close your eyes and think about where you were on you favorite or most recent trip outdoors. Chances are this trip brought you to some sort of protected land, quite possibly to a federally designated “Wilderness” area, such as the Olympic Wilderness, the San Juan Wilderness, Mount Rainier National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Boulder River Wilderness and more.  Read more…

This August, while backpacking through the Hoover Wilderness in California with my husband and brother-in-law, I ran into a woman about my age. She was headed down the trail in our direction so we hiked together a few miles, chatting about our work, her Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike the previous summer, and our mutual love of solo trips. She was a teacher out on a three-day trip before the school year started back up. I told her about my work with Outdoor Alliance and our efforts to bring together the outdoor recreation community to protect public lands. Read more…

As many of our Mountaineers members know, the Land & Water Conservation Fund expired at midnight on September 30th. We were disappointed to hear that not only did the fund expire, but Congress members were not even given the opportunity to vote on the bill - which traditionally has bipartisan support. Although this is not great news for our outdoor community, our efforts were not wasted and the fight is not over. Environmentalists, senators, recreationists, and Mountaineers stepped forward in a big way to protect one of the most important conservation programs. Read more…

I grew up blind to the American legacy of public lands — an inheritance for all people, regardless of background, language, or creed. I get shivers to think of what my life would be without the rush of climbing mountains in the North Cascades, diving into alpine lakes in the Grand Teton backcountry, or having Elysian Park as a family gathering place for our “Carne Asadas,” our version of a family BBQ. I found my soul in the wild and the heart of my passion within my family in the city of Los Angeles.  Read more…