Conservation Blog

Join us on Thursday, May 13 for a virtual presentation from outdoor athlete, creative, and climate activist Graham Zimmerman. Read more…

Happy Earth Day, Mountaineers! There are so many ways to celebrate this marvelous planet that we inhabit. Being a good steward of the environment is a great way to show that you care, and if you need some specific ideas of things you can do in the coming weeks, we’ve got you covered. Read more…

Just in time for Earth Day, a new photo exhibit from Braided River is launching in celebration of the stunning Salish Sea. Read more…

The Mountaineers made a commitment to reduce our organization’s carbon footprint as part of Vision 2022. In the Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee’s last blog post, we wrote about electric vehicles and some things to think about if you’re considering purchasing one. In this blog, we introduce you to carbon offsets. Read more…

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the Forest Service manages some of our most spectacular natural landscapes and favorite places to hike, ski, climb, and camp. But even as the popularity of outdoor recreation increases and climate change intensifies, funding for the Forest Service and other land management agencies has decreased.  Read more…

Teaching kayak self-rescue on a bleary Northwest day. Practicing crevasse rescue with a “fallen climber” twice your size. Encountering surprise sleet and snow on a backpacking trip. Of the many challenging situations they encounter, navigating federal permitting processes is one of the few that make our volunteer leaders groan. Read more…

Last year, the outdoor community celebrated the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), the most significant federal conservation funding bill in decades. This historic victory was the result of years of work by The Mountaineers and many of our partners in the conservation and recreation community.  Read more…

The Mountaineers Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee is excited to announce a Climate Change Speaker Series to help our community learn more about the climate crisis. Climate change is an issue that’s on many people’s minds, but it can be overwhelming. In this series, you’ll learn from Mountaineers members and authors about our current climate reality, new science about thawing permafrost, and how climate change will affect the local PNW landscapes we love. Read more…

The Mountaineers made a commitment to reduce our organization’s carbon footprint as part of Vision 2022. In the Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee’s last blog post, we discussed transportation and a few ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. In this blog, we dive deeper into electric vehicles (EVs). Read more…

Everybody poops... but not everyone knows how to poop in the wilderness in an environmentally friendly way. The Mountaineers are addressing this challenge with a new course launching April 1, 2021, just in time for summer: Wilderness Pooping.   Read more…

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will take up a lands package which includes additional protections for the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act here in Washington State. This bill will protect over 126,000 acres around the Olympic National Park where we hike, camp, and explore. We need your support to get this important bill passed this year! Read more…

We’re excited to announce Trailhead Ambassadors, a new program launching this summer to help promote responsible recreation and environmental stewardship in the Snoqualmie Corridor area. Volunteer Trailhead Ambassadors will serve as a welcoming entity at popular trailheads along the I-90 corridor and help educate and empower trail users. The program is currently recruiting volunteers.  Read more…

Every two years, the Washington State Legislature passes a budget that funds state operations like education, human services, transportation, and public lands. Lawmakers are currently negotiating this year’s funding package. The Mountaineers is working with other conservation and recreation groups to advocate for funding for our state land management agencies and outdoor programs. Now more than ever, our state public lands need sufficient funding to ensure sustainable and equitable access to the outdoors.  Read more…

Since 2018, The Mountaineers Gear Library has supported youth, lending out everything from cross-country skis so students can glide under snow-covered trees to tents for camping on the Peninsula. While these trips have been successful, we believe our gear can do more. Read more…

One of Washington State’s most beloved wild places - the Enchantments, located in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness - could be impacted by a proposal to replace an aging dam. The Washington State Department of Ecology recently announced plans to replace the Eightmile Lake Dam in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The plans raise concerns about appropriate actions in a protected wilderness area and impacts on recreation. Read more…

Outdoor advocates enter 2021 with a vastly different federal landscape to navigate than we saw in 2020. With a new Congress and a new Administration, we have exciting opportunities to protect our public lands, outdoor experiences, and climate. Here is a summary of some of the key changes that will affect our work to conserve the public lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond: Read more…

On January 18,  the Foothills Conservation Committee is collaborating with Mountains to Sound Greenway to sponsor a day of service in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day. This is a great opportunity to get outside and provide cleanup to the parks and public lands that we all love, use, and recreate in.  Read more…

Like many aspects of our lives, 2020 has been a roller coaster of a year for public lands. During the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, public lands in Washington State closed as a result of Governor Inslee’s ”Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. Read more…

The Mountaineers is an incredible community of adventurers, students, instructors, advocates, and leaders. As we close the door on 2020 and look ahead to 2021, we reflect on our core values and how they’ve guided us through the past nine months of this pandemic.  Read more…

This December marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and  for nearly 20 years, our conservation imprint Braided River has been publishing stunning books about this special place. These books serve as the visual foundation for advocacy campaigns to protect the Arctic from oil and gas development, climate change, and other threats. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is under imminent threat of oil and gas leasing as soon as January 2021 by the federal administration (learn more at Protect the Arctic and make your voice heard).  Read more…

For almost six years, The Mountaineers has been a proud member of Outdoor Alliance, a nonprofit organization that unites the voices of outdoor enthusiasts in order to protect the human-powered outdoor recreation experience and conserve America’s public lands. Our membership in Outdoor Alliance amplifies our ability to weigh in on national policy issues and bring regional issues to national attention. Read more…

This year, something incredible happened. Amidst the immense challenges facing our country, a polarized Congress came together to pass a bill called the Great American Outdoors Act. Some called this once-in-a-generation conservation funding bill a “unicorn” - a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation.  Read more…

For years, REI has closed its stores on Black Friday, paying their employees to #OptOutside instead. At The Mountaineers, we couldn't love the idea more. Our employees have always enjoyed the day after Thanksgiving as a vacation day, and two paid stewardship days each year to take care of their favorite places to play. We believe going outside is not just good for your health - but good for your soul.  Read more…

The outdoors have always been a source of unity. In an often divisive world, the outdoors brings us together to explore, share, and ultimately protect the experiences they provide. Indeed, even with a divided Congress the last two years, we’ve achieved significant conservation wins with the recent passage of the Dingell Act and the Great American Outdoors Act. These bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan votes, showing that protecting public lands and waters has strong support from across the political spectrum. Read more…

The Mountaineers made a commitment to reduce our organization’s carbon footprint as part of Vision 2022. In the Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee’s last blog post, we discussed the carbon footprint of food and what we can all do to make a difference. This month we’re excited to talk about another area where The Mountaineers, and most of us, can reduce our carbon footprint: transportation. Read more…

Thomas O’Keefe is a conservationist who is equally comfortable paddling a Class IV river as he is testifying before Congress (wearing his trademark bow tie). The longtime Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director for American Whitewater, Tom has dedicated his life to protecting whitewater rivers. Tom works closely with The Mountaineers to advocate for our wild places and provides strategic advice as a member of the Advisory Council. Here, we get to know Tom and learn what sparked his passion for protecting and stewarding public lands. Plus, we learn a great trick for recruiting Mountaineers members! Read more…

As Mountaineers, we’re intimately connected with wild places. Some of us were introduced to the outdoors through The Mountaineers: a scrambling trip sparked a lifelong love for the North Cascades or a guidebook from Mountaineers Books introduced us to our first hike. Some of us join to deepen our love for the outdoors through new friendships and adventures. Regardless of what brought us here, we're united by our fierce love for the places we explore and our strong desire to protect them. Read more…

The Mountaineers was honored to host legendary alpinist and environmental activist Conrad Anker for two recent events on the climate crisis. Conrad joined us on September 24, 2020, to share stories of adventures around the world and how wild places have been negatively impacted by the global climate crisis. The following evening, our Peak Society donors enjoyed a special discussion with Conrad and several other esteemed panelists. Read more…

Last year, we asked you to take action against a proposal to exempt the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule is an important conservation tool that protects many of our most valued backcountry landscapes from logging, road building, and other development. Unfortunately, the Administration recently announced plans to remove protections from the Tongass rainforest and open it to development. Read more…

Hiking is a wonderful way to get outside, stretch your legs, and see the best of what the Northwest has to offer. However, it’s important to be mindful of the impacts that we can have on our public lands by doing our best to keep the places we visit wild and pristine. Read more…