The Mountaineers
Last year, we saw an unprecedented level of threats to public lands from Congress and the administration. In response, The Mountaineers community took action in record numbers, sending thousands of advocacy letters in defense of our public lands. These messages highlighted the importance of staffing and funding for federal land managers, keeping federal public lands in public hands, and foundational conservation policies like the Roadless Rule and the National Environmental Policy Act.
While we weren’t able to repel every attack on public lands, grassroots advocacy by recreationists like you made a difference and is increasingly critical moving forward. With public lands under increasing pressure from these policy attacks, chronic underfunding of land management agencies, and growing recreational use, we need more outdoor enthusiasts to leverage their connection to the outdoors and tell personal stories that underscore our issues through advocacy action.
Our three conservation eLearning courses - Low impact Recreation, Public Lands 101, and Advocacy 101 - can serve as great resources to help you become a steward of - and advocate for - the landscapes and experiences you value. In 2025 alone, we saw 800 graduates across the three courses. To prepare our community to defend public lands with us again in 2026, we’re calling on all Mountaineers to consider taking at least one of our conservation courses.
Our Conservation eLearning Courses
Our online courses are open to Mountaineers members and non-members alike, and can be taken at any time, at your own pace. While there are no prerequisites for these courses, we recommend starting with Low Impact Recreation, then diving into Public Lands 101 and finishing with Advocacy 101. Not a member? You’ll just need to create a free guest account to sign up for the courses.
You may have already taken Low Impact Recreation to fulfill a graduate requirement for an activity-based Mountaineers course. Public Lands 101 and Advocacy 101 are great additions to your Mountaineers experience, especially if you’re looking to learn more about public lands and how to effectively speak up for the outdoors.
Low Impact Recreation
Practicing low impact recreation is becoming increasingly important as public lands have fewer staff to educate and encourage public lands users to adopt these practices. Leave No Trace (LNT) has been a longtime foundation of our outdoor education. Our Low Impact Recreation course - featuring our video series - teaches recreationists how to lessen their impact on the land while still enjoying their favorite outdoor activities. Low Impact Recreation is frequently included as a graduate requirement in our activity-based courses. Test your LNT knowledge and earn the Low Impact Recreation badge for your Mountaineers profile today.
Public Lands 101
The majority of Mountaineers programs, activities, and advocacy focuses on federal public lands like national parks and national forests. Our Public Lands 101 course offers recreationists like you a great overview of the different types of public lands and how they’re managed. Completing this course and earning the Public Lands 101 badge will help you be better informed while recreating and prepare you to get in the outdoor advocacy game with Advocacy 101.
Advocacy 101
Of all our courses, Advocacy 101 most thoroughly teaches how to effectively advocate to defend public lands with lawmakers and land managers. You don’t have to be a policy expert or have lots of extra time to make a difference. Constituent advocacy by recreationists like you is the perfect compliment to our staff-lead advocacy. This dedicated advocacy training tool will help you learn the basics of advocacy and best practices for advocating for important conservation and recreation initiatives with your members of Congress and state and local lawmakers, as well as with land managers.
After completing the course and earning your Advocacy 101 badge, you’ll be ready to continue advocating on your own for an issue or place you care about and with fellow outdoor enthusiasts at organized lobby days and other opportunities. 2026 will be another big year for public lands advocacy, and having your voice included in our efforts will make a difference.
Start Your Conservation eLearning Journey Today
The 2026 versions of our conservation courses are now open and ready to help you practice low impact recreation, better know our public lands, and become an outdoor advocate. If you’ve previously completed these courses, there’s no need to take them again unless you’d like a refresher.
Interested in incorporating these courses into your Mountaineers programs and activities but don't know where to start? Email our staff at conservation@mountaineers.org. We appreciate your efforts to grow a culture of conservation throughout The Mountaineers and would love to provide support.
