Election Debrief: What does the crystal ball show?

I suppose I should kick this policy update off by talking about the election. In case you missed it, David shared some early thoughts following election day. Since then, it has been confirmed that the Republican party will control both the Senate and the House, and President-elect Trump has named his initial Cabinet picks (the Senate will vote to confirm the new Cabinet in January).

Most relevant to our work are his choices of Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture and Doug Burgum for Secretary of Interior.

If your neck hurts reading this, that’s just the whiplash as the political pendulum takes a sharp swing, again. The next four years will likely be a repeat of many of the same challenges we dealt with between 2016 and 2020, but with fewer legal and regulatory guardrails. Looking to Project 2025 and the America First Policy Institute agenda as our crystal balls, we expect (among other things):

• Significantly increased timber activity on U.S. Forest Service lands, with reduced emphasis on prescribed fire, potentially rolling back protections for roadless areas and old-growth forests.
• Expanded mineral and fossil fuel development with streamlined permitting processes.
• Reversal of efforts to protect federal lands and waters.
• Efforts to revise, repeal, or undermine key environmental laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Energy Policy Conservation Act; Endangered Species Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); and Antiquities Act.
• Commercialization of weather technologies (affecting climate research and avalanche forecasting) and downsizing the office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (targeting climate scientists).

Despite all of these challenges, however, we still see opportunities to work proactively to protect America’s wild snowscapes. Outdoor recreation is a bipartisan issue, and people aren’t going to stop skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling any time soon. Our work to steward public lands, support visitor education, and yes, protect wild snowscapes, will be more vital than ever.

Funding for Public Lands

Speaking of positive and proactive work in the coming year, we are excited that Senators Daines (R-MT) and King (I-ME), along with Senators Cramer (R-ND) and Warner (D-VA), have introduced the America the Beautiful Act. This bill reauthorizes the Legacy Restoration Fund, first established in 2020 through the Great American Outdoors Act to address the maintenance backlog that plagues public land agencies. The original Legacy Restoration Fund, which provided $1.9 billion for projects like trail maintenance, bridge reconstruction, and road repairs, is set to expire in 2025. The America the Beautiful Act would reauthorize and extend the fund for another 5 years and replenish its budget to $2 billion.

We look forward to working with legislators to get this bill through Congress next year.

Spread the Word: Protect Teton Bighorn Sheep

If you’re planning on skiing in the Tetons this winter, please be respectful of winter closures and bighorn sheep winter zones to give Teton bighorns the space they need to survive.

The Teton Range is legendary in the world of backcountry skiing and mountaineering. It’s also home to a diminishing population of bighorn sheep that have called the range home since time immemorial. Because of human development in the valley bottoms, the sheep have lost their traditional migration routes and winter ranges and now eke out a living in the heights of the Tetons all year long. Thus, our wintertime activities represent yet another challenge to Teton bighorn sheep survival.

In response, winter recreationists are asked to voluntarily avoid certain areas in the Tetons to protect bighorn sheep. We’ve worked with land managers, biologists, and local skiers (including our grassroots group Teton Backcountry Alliance) to identify and refine these sheep winter zones.

As an Alliance of people who care about winter and the wildlife that inhabits our favorite backcountry ski areas, we have a responsibility to know before we go which backcountry areas serve as critical winter habitat and migration pathways for wildlife as well as those that are closed seasonally to protect wildlife.

Want to learn more? This 7-minute film, Denizens of the Steep, explores the impact of backcountry recreation on migratory sheep, with professional ski mountaineer/guide/Winter Wildlands Alliance Ambassador Kim Havell and others discussing the importance of protecting and conserving the wild places in which we roam.

Voters Approve $10 Billion for Water, Wildfire, and Climate

As the realities of the election results unfold, I’m happy to share a bit of positivity from the election here in California. Voters passed Proposition 4, a $10 million dollar bond to support water, wildfire and climate resiliency projects. While the fate of the national 30×30 movement, a global effort to conserve 30% of lands and waters by 2030, isn’t looking promising, California will continue to pursue its 30×30 goals with the added support of Prop 4.

The money will be distributed fairly evenly between drinking water improvements, wildfire and extreme heat projects, parks and wildlife projects, and drought and flood protections, including restoring rivers and lakes. Just shy of $1 billion will go towards clean energy projects and enhancing green spaces and public access to the outdoors.

Wildfire has taken center stage recently in California, but it is critical to address all aspects of climate change. Restoring rivers and lakes will help conserve biodiversity while reducing reliance on surface water storage reservoirs that can degrade watersheds. Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy reduces emissions and helps to slow climate warming, preserving our snowy winters and improving our snowpack.

While there are many aspects of climate change, wildfire and forest health have emerged as particularly critical and urgent issues in California. There are opportunities for growth and collaboration in both the way we prepare for wildfires and the way we respond to them. The interface between recreation and the various efforts to address the wildfire crisis offers a lot of potential for collaboration and enhanced benefits for all.

Can we incorporate fire hardened trails into our fuel break networks? Where are there new opportunities for access and infrastructure in the post-fire landscape? How can the growing recreation economy be leveraged for multiple benefits, including climate resilience?

While it is a long road ahead, it’s inspiring to see that the majority of California voters support investing in climate resilience. Proposition 4 had broad support, ranging from the National Wildlife Federation to the California Professional Firefighters Association. This bond truly is for all Californians, and we look forward to seeing how far we can make the dollars go in support of climate resilience.

Call to Action:  Advocate for projects that benefit your community and protect wild snowscapes! Contact your representatives or attend planning meetings to support wildfire prevention, renewable energy, and wildlife conservation. For more ways to take action, email Megan at mfiske@winterwildlands.org.

Winter Recreation’s Economic Impact

Winter recreation is a massive economic powerhouse in Colorado, and we have the numbers to prove it! The latest Outdoor Recreation report from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) highlights just how important snow activities are in Colorado. Nationwide, snow-based recreation generated a whopping $7.7 billion in 2022, with Colorado leading the pack. Snowsports contributed $1.6 billion to the state’s economy—more than any other activity! I’m feeling pretty hopeful about the impact our favorite winter activities have on local economies.

Now that we know that snowsports are a bright spot in our state’s economy, what can we do to demonstrate to state leaders and land managers that investing in equitable and sustainable winter recreation access is good for everyone?

Here’s where you come in! We need to understand how and where people are enjoying these activities. That’s why Winter Wildlands Alliance is bolstering our data collection program in southwest Colorado this season using the RIMS app. This easy-to-use tool helps us track recreation trends, which we can use to advocate for the quiet-use areas and backcountry experiences that make winter in Colorado so special.

Call to Action: If you live in Colorado and want to get involved with this season’s data collection effort, fill out this survey, and Brittany will be in touch to work on a localized data plan that works for your community. For questions, please reach out to Brittany at: bleffel@winterwildlands.org.