Photo by R Gray on Unsplash

(8/30/2024)

Summer is not over yet, but the anticipation for winter is already building. For me, it starts with the bison rut in Yellowstone National Park—which I experienced firsthand while driving through the park to a Forest Service meeting earlier this month—and when I begin to see the first fall wildflowers in the high country.

Power of Data Collection

Although ski season is still a couple of months away, now is the time to start thinking about winter data collection. Having real numbers on how many people are recreating in a particular area, and (ideally) what they are doing, can be a powerful advocacy tool and provide important information for land managers.

For example, Teton Backcountry Alliance’s (TBCA) recent newsletter shared data from last winter’s trail counter on Teton Pass. They documented a daily average of 268 skiers and splitboarders, with weekend days averaging 318. The busiest day on Teton Pass last season was February 17, when the trail counter documented 1,133 people ascending the boot pack at the top of the Pass!

This information helps TBCA advocate for funding the crucial work they do to manage winter use on Teton Pass. It will also assist TBCA and Winter Wildlands Alliance in advocating for quiet winter recreation interests during the Bridger-Teton forest plan revision.

Elk Mountains Backcountry Alliance also has a longstanding winter recreation data collection initiative for the Crested Butte area, which you can dive into here, the results of which will be incredibly helpful when the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest starts winter travel planning.

Winter Wildlands Alliance has been working to gather more information on winter recreation use in California and (more recently) parts of Colorado, too.

Opposition to the Ambler Road Amendment

Enough thinking about the future—let’s go over what has been happening in policy this month!

First off, remember how excited we were (still are!) when the Biden Administration decided to protect the Brooks Range and deny permits for the Ambler Road? This month, Senator Dan Sullivan (R, AK) introduced an amendment to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would force the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to allow construction of the road, ignoring the environmental and cultural impacts clearly outlined in the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision.

The good news is that there is still time to strip this amendment from the NDAA. You can help by joining local Indigenous leaders in opposing Senator Sullivan’s NDAA amendment.

Protecting Old-Growth Forests

On the Forest Service front, the agency is continuing to move forward with actions to protect old-growth forests. In 2022, the Forest Service proposed a nationwide forest plan amendment that would restrict commercial logging in old-growth stands while still allowing for restoration actions, like prescribed burns, needed to make forests resilient to wildfire and other climate-related disturbances. This proposed National Old Growth Amendment would add new protections for old-growth forests to 122 forest plans across the country.

Comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this amendment are due by September 20, and we are working with Outdoor Alliance on comments.

One concern we have with the draft amendment is that it allows for a long list of exceptions to old-growth conservation, including ski area development. We believe the ecological integrity of old-growth forests should take precedence over recreation projects. You can learn more about the Old Growth Amendment on the Outdoor Alliance blog, here.

Avalanche Control or Eyesore?

Finally, I wanted to highlight this blog post from our friends at Wasatch Backcountry Alliance. Folks in the Wasatch have been alarmed by the recent installation of 16 Wyssen Remote Avalanche Control Systems (RACS) on Mount Superior, across from Snowbird, and the scenic impact this has.

In their post, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance describes the balancing act they face in trying to prioritize which battles to fight amid limited capacity and the many threats to the Wasatch. I think this post does a great job of summing up the difficult position grassroots advocates are in as we look to maximize our impact and meet the mission of our respective organizations. It also provides helpful context on the RACS and Wasatch Backcountry Alliance’s decision-making process.

Photo by Justine Milton

(6/28/2024)

How did you spend the summer solstice? The Winter Wildlands Alliance staff and board made full use of the longest days of the year, gathering at a campground on the banks of the South Fork of the Payette River in Idaho for our annual summer board meeting.

With David just recently back from sabbatical, it was really good to have the whole crew together. We parted ways energized about all the work we do at Winter Wildlands Alliance to protect America’s wild snowscapes, get kids outside on snow, and showcase amazing human-powered winter films.

Huge Victory for the Arctic

First off, I have some breaking news to share! Today, the Biden Administration finalized its decision to deny the Ambler Road. The proposed Ambler Road forced Indigenous communities who have called Northwest Alaska home for thousands of years to fight for their sustenance and way of life. People from all across Alaska and the nation joined them to speak out against the destruction the road would bring.

The Ambler Road threatened thousands of miles of clean water, caribou herds, and our nation’s largest national park. It would have fragmented one of America’s wildest winter landscapes, changing the Brooks Range forever. Today, we are proud to say that the Biden Administration answered our call. There will be no Ambler Road in the Brooks Range!

The path ahead may present new challenges, but this victory is absolutely crucial for protecting the Brooks Range. So join us in celebrating! And please take a moment to thank the Biden Administration for protecting the Arctic by sending a quick thank you to President Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland.

Forest Plan Updates

This month saw the release of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison Forest Plan (GMUG) and the wrap-up of a scoping comment period for the Rio Grande winter travel plan. Brittany will delve into the Rio Over-Snow Vehicle plan later in this update.

The GMUG forest plan is a bit of a mixed bag. We are not super happy with the new plan’s winter Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) map. It appears to be the end-product of a GIS mapping exercise more than a reflection of public comments and desired future conditions. But the forest has also indicated it will tackle winter travel planning sooner rather than later, and while the winter ROS sets the stage for winter travel planning, that site-specific process will give us a better chance to protect specific places across the forest.

Fighting for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

In last month’s policy update, I mentioned that while we were celebrating the publication of the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) new Phase II regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), twenty-one state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in North Dakota to block the updated regulations.

This week, we joined a diverse coalition of environmental justice, labor, and conservation groups to intervene in the lawsuit and defend the new NEPA Rule. The new regulations reversed many of the Trump Administration’s harmful changes to NEPA and require federal agencies to consider climate and environmental justice impacts in their NEPA analyses. The regulations also mandate meaningful, early consultation with impacted communities, including Tribes. This intervention is the latest in our work to #protectNEPA.

There is never a dull moment at Winter Wildlands Alliance, and I am expecting the rest of this summer to fly by. Stay tuned for next month’s updates!

Photo by Valentin Hintikka

(5/29/2024)

Wow, May went by fast! I love this time of year because I can go skiing one day and then be on the river, or rock climbing, a day later. Sometimes even on the same day! Spring is the best for multi-sport adventures. When not enjoying all that the season has to offer for outdoor activities, the WWA policy team has been busy with exciting new travel planning developments and advocating for increases to public lands recreation funding, among other things. Read on for details.

Winter Travel Planning Begins in Colorado and Wraps Up in Tahoe!

The Forest Service recently began a winter travel planning process that will ultimately designate routes and areas for over-snow vehicle (OSV) use across the 1.8-million-acre Rio Grande National Forest. Meanwhile, after nine years, the Tahoe National Forest finally completed its OSV plan. More on both of these plans from Brittany and Kelly below!

Protect Public Lands With Proper Funding

Over the last fifteen years, outdoor recreation visits have steadily increased on public lands, but funding for recreation staff at the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management has decreased. This discrepancy has led to a host of issues that anybody who works with land management agencies or recreates on public lands is likely aware of, including a lack of staff for maintenance, enforcement, and visitor education, as well as limited capacity for recreation planning.

We have been working with Outdoor Alliance to advocate for improved public lands funding. This month, Outdoor Alliance, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and 33 other outdoor recreation organizations and businesses sent a letter calling on lawmakers to fully fund recreation budgets at the Forest Service and the BLM. Current budget proposals are inadequate for managing public lands and waters. Learn more, and ask Congress to increase funding for recreation management on public lands here.  

NEPA, Restored!

On April 30, the Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published the final part of a two-phase effort to restore and modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule gives the public a stronger voice in public lands management and government decisions that affect public health. It also strengthens requirements for assessing climate and environmental justice impacts while centering science in government decision-making.

We have been working to #ProtectNEPA since the Trump Administration tried to gut this bedrock environmental law in 2020, and we are relieved to have this new NEPA rule in place. CEQ completed Phase 1 of its NEPA restoration effort in April 2022, with a preliminary rule restoring the fundamental elements of NEPA. Over the past two years, CEQ has been working to modernize the application of NEPA to address 21st-century challenges. “Look before you leap” is a fundamental purpose of NEPA, and this new rule will ensure, among other things, that our nation can rapidly transition to a clean energy future without sacrificing public lands, the larger environment, or the health of frontline communities.

Unsurprisingly, not everybody is happy to see NPEA restored. On May 21, twenty states filed a lawsuit in North Dakota to overturn CEQ’s new NEPA rule. We are watching this case closely and will continue to alert you to opportunities to stand up for NEPA!

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash 

(4/26/2024)

Speaking of travel management – we are expecting winter travel planning to start on the Rio Grande National Forest next month. This is the first forest in Colorado to conduct winter travel planning under the 2015 OSV Rule – more on this from Brittany in her update below!This has been an exciting month! 

Ambler Road Update

On April 19, the Biden Administration announced its intention to deny construction of the Ambler Road in Alaska, protecting the communities, wildlife, and ecosystems of the western Brooks Range, including Gates of the Arctic National Park. This is a big win – read more on our blog here!

Bureau of Land Management’s New Public Lands Rule

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the agency that considered, and is poised to reject, the Ambler Road. The day before the Ambler Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published, the BLM published its new Public Lands Rule. This new Rule places conservation on equal footing with other uses of BLM  lands, making this a  much-needed update for the agency, that manages 10% of all the land in the country, more than any other government agency. Read more and take action to support the Rule with our friends at Outdoor Alliance, here.

House Passes EXPLORE Act

And, if the past week could not have been any more exciting, we were also celebrating because the House passed the EXPLORE Act, a bipartisan package of outdoor recreation policy. Of the various sections in the bill, we have been most focused on Section 127(b), which specifically addresses winter travel management and provides a mechanism to get the Forest Service to comply with the 2015 Over-Snow Vehicle (OSV) Rule.  

Over-Snow Vehicle-Use Maps—The Secretary concerned shall seek to have, not later than 10 years after the date of the enactment of this title, in a printed and publicly available format that is compliant with the format for geographic information systems, an over-snow vehicle-use map for each unit of Federal recreational lands and waters administered by the Chief of the Forest Service or Director of the Bureau of Land Management on which over-snow vehicle-use occurs, in accordance with existing law.

The Senate’s version of the EXPLORE Act, America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA), passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee last summer, and we hope the Senate will act soon to pass the package. Outdoor Alliance has made it easy for people to thank their Representative for supporting EXPLORE and ask their Senators to do so. Click here to take action!

Project Updates

• Grand Targhee Ski Resort Expansion – While preparing for maternity leave in December, I spent a lot of time trying to anticipate what comment periods might happen over the winter. I was certain that we would see a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Grand Targhee ski resort expansion while I was out. I guess I shouldn’t pick up a side gig as a fortune teller, because this DEIS is still pending, and I am not making any more predictions about when it might be published. 
• Flathead National Forest – A long-awaited comment period that is happening right now is the Flathead National Forest’s draft Environmental Assenssment (EA) on forest plan suitability changes. The Flathead is implementing over-snow vehicle (OSV) and Recommended Wilderness suitability changes per the 2018 Flathead Forest Plan. Some of the areas newly recommended for Wilderness in the Forest Plan are currently open to snowmobiling and/or mountain biking, but the Forest Plan states that motorized and mechanized recreation are not suitable within Recommended Wilderness Areas (RWAs).  This EA implements the changes prescribed in the Forest Plan and is the vehicle for prohibiting these non-conforming uses in RWAs. The 2018 Forest Plan also maps new areas as suitable for over-snow vehicle use that are not currently open to OSVs. This EA is also the means through which the Forest Service will designate all or part of these areas for OSV use. We are pleased to see the Flathead moving relatively quickly to implement these important Forest Plan management changes. Even though this is a fairly limited travel plan, and we are happy about the forest’s steps to protect RWAs, we think the Flathead needs to take a closer look at what they are designating for OSV use. In particular, we are concerned about displacement of backcountry skiing on Marias Pass (just across the highway from Glacier National Park) and the impacts to wolverines, lynx, and grizzly bears. Click here to comment on the Flathead Suitability Changes!
• Rio Grande National Forest – Speaking of travel management, we are expecting winter travel planning to start on the Rio Grande National Forest next month. This is the first forest in Colorado to conduct winter travel planning under the 2015 OSV Rule – more on this from Brittany in her update below!