Outdoor Alliance

06/04/2026

Exciting news, we’re hiring!

Outdoor Alliance is seeking a California Campaign Manager to help advance policies that protect public lands and waters while expanding sustainable and equitable access to outdoor recreation.

This role will work across California to build coalitions, engage decision-makers, support advocacy campaigns, and ensure the voices of climbers, skiers, paddlers, runners, and other recreationsists are represented in public lands policy.

We're looking for someone who is skilled at building relationships, and excited to help strengthen the outdoor recreation community in California, and beyond.

If this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply! If it sounds like someone you know, please share: https://bit.ly/3PUEgst

06/03/2026

On public lands, “travel management” guides decisions about where motorized vehicles are allowed and how those uses are balanced with conservation.

When done well, travel management provides clarity for all users.

A recent executive order, "Removing Unnecessary and Counterproductive Restrictions on Access to Federal Lands" directs the Forest Service and Department of the Interior to begin revising travel management plans across millions of acres of public lands.

“Travel management is about balancing use so everyone can have a positive experience,” said Anneka Williams, Winter Wildlands Alliance Policy Director. “It provides a framework for land managers to designate motorized access while protecting ecological integrity. Losing this balance will threaten recreation experiences and the long-term health of our public lands.”

Learn more about travel management and how it will affect the places you get outside:

The administration has rescinded decades-old guidance that helps land managers decide where motorized vehicles can go on public lands and how those uses are balanced with recreation, wildlife, and conservation needs.

05/28/2026

Outdoor Alliance member organizations are pushing back against attacks on clean water. Together, we are working to defend the Clean Water Act, protect snowpack, and limit offshore oil and gas drilling.

From paddling and boating on rivers to swimming and surfing along our coasts, millions of Americans rely on access to clean water to enjoy their time outdoors.

Clean water is essential not only to our health, but also to outdoor recreation experiences and jobs and economies they support across the country.

Learn more about current attacks on clean water and how you can take action to protect it:

Clean water is essential to outdoor recreation and the communities that depend on it.

05/26/2026

Last week, Outdoor Alliance Washington met with Rep. Dan Newhouse, a founding member of the Public Lands Caucus in the House.

Newhouse was one of several Republicans in Congress who stood up for public lands during last year’s attempt to sell them off as part of budget reconciliation. This gathering brought together groups like Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, the Mountaineers, and Backcountry Horsemen to highlight the importance of protected public lands.

“Our public lands support a diverse array of users, including those of us that connect to the outdoors on horseback,” said Kathy Young of Backcountry Horsemen of Washington.

Broad coalitions and strong champions in Congress are key to protecting Washington’s lands and waters.

Learn more about Outdoor Alliance Washington, and how we’re working with lawmakers to ensure that public lands stay public from coast to coast:

Almost a year ago, the outdoor community rallied together to defeat Congress’ proposal to sell federal public lands as part of budget reconciliation. Grassroots advocacy from outdoor enthusiasts helped move key lawmakers, including Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04).

05/21/2026

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. Millions of people will head outside to camp, paddle, ride, climb, fish, and explore public lands and waters across the country.

Whether you’re headed to your favorite campsite, trail, crag, or river put in, places may look different this weekend due to a significant loss of staff over the past year.

A new trails report from the Forest Service shows that trail maintenance is at a 15-year low, and National Parks have lost 25% of their staff as part of the administration’s effort to reduce the federal workforce.

When agencies lose staff, the impacts are hard to ignore: delayed trail maintenance, overflowing trash at trailheads, closed visitor centers, understaffed campgrounds, and compromised safety.

Without adequate staffing and resources, the health of our public lands will continue to suffer. Join us in calling on Congress to fund public lands so that places stay safe, accessible, and well cared for:

Our public lands can’t run on short-term patches. Congress must pass a strong bipartisan funding bill to rebuild staffing + keep recreation safe and sustainable.

05/19/2026

“I think it's really important for recreationists of different types to talk to each other." - Anneka Williams, Policy Director for Winter Wildlands Alliance

Anneka is the Policy Director for Winter Wildlands Alliance. As part of our Outdoor Allies series, she talks about the importance of different recreation types coming together to work towards a common goal of protecting and preserving the places we get outside:

"My brother is primarily a fly fisherman. As a skier, I don’t totally understand his way of spending time outside. But, we call each other and exchange stories about our adventures. What we have in common is this sense of wildness that we’re both craving. For me, that happens to take the form of looking for good snow, and creating the perfect turns. For him, that wildness comes in the form of fly fishing, of figuring out where the fish are going to be biting on a particular day, designing the right fly for the job."

Learn more about Anneka and her work seeking alignment within the outdoor recreation community via our Outdoor Allies series:

Anneka Williams is the Policy Director for Winter Wildlands Alliance. A climate scientist and writer, Anneka has pursued research, stories, and ski lines all around the world. She is currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah and frequents the Wasatch range.

05/15/2026

Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing about the FY2027 budget for the Forest Service. The current proposal includes a number of significant budget cuts, including the maintenance of trails and other important recreation resources.

Currently, the Forest Service has a $12B maintenance backlog. In addition to this ongoing maintenance backlog, a recent trails report shows that the Forest Service maintained 22% fewer trails miles in 2025 than in 2024.

Last year, the Forest Service lost more than 9,000 staff as part of the administration’s effort to reduce the federal workforce. Some ranger districts report that they lost up to 100% of their trail staff, which are the very positions that keep trails safe, open, and maintained.

Learn more about how a lack of funding from the administration and Congress is affecting the places you get outside:

According to recently released internal reports, the Forest Service conducted 22% less trail maintenance in 2025 compared to 2024. Here's what's happening.

05/11/2026

Today, the Department of Interior (DOI) announced it would rescind the Public Lands Rule, putting 245 million acres of BLM land at risk for development.

"The Public Lands Rule was a long-overdue effort to modernize how the Bureau of Land Management approaches conservation, recreation, and development,” said Adam Cramer, CEO of Outdoor Alliance. “Rescinding it is a missed opportunity to manage public lands with the precision and balance these landscapes deserve."

The rule, finalized in 2024 was intended to put outdoor recreation and conservation on an equal footing with others uses like logging, extraction, and development. Learn more:

The Department of the Interior announced today that it will fully rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule, reversing a policy that recognized conservation as an essential part of the agency’s multiple-use mission.

05/08/2026

The U.S. Forest Service is in the process of updating how it manages hardrock mining across millions of acres of your public lands.

The agency’s current mining regulations date back to 1974. Since then, outdoor recreation has become a primary use of land managed by the Forest Service. And conflicts between mining and recreation have been heating up in places like the Boundary Waters, the South Fork Salmon, and Oak Flat.

Current rules allow mining to happen within places frequented by outdoor recreationists. When mining is poorly sited or managed, it can permanently damage the very resources that make these places special: rivers, trails, climbing areas, and backcountry terrain.

As the Forest Service considers updates to its outdated mining rules, the agency must ensure that resources like clean water, and access to outdoor recreation are a significant consideration alongside extraction. Learn more:

The U.S. Forest Service is in the process of updating how it manages hardrock mining on national forests for the first time in more than 50 years.

05/06/2026

The Roadless Rule protects some of our country’s most valued backcountry recreation areas. These forests provide clean air and water, fight climate change, and are the backbone of a $1.3 trillion outdoor recreation economy that supports 5.2 million jobs.

Right now, those protections are at risk. A proposed rollback could unwind protections for 45 million acres of national forests. This rollback would affect 25,121 miles of hiking trails, 10,794 miles of mountain biking, hundreds of miles of rivers, and 10,000 climbing routes.

We expect a DEIS comment period soon from the USDA. If the rule is rolled back, some of our favorite places could be opened to road building and logging, which would fundamentally change the outdoor recreation experience.

Learn more what’s about at stake, and know when to act. Outdoor Alliance makes it easy here:

Help us protect our backcountry recreation areas. Roadless rules defend forests, and help preserve their clean air, clean water, and local habitat.