Resources Archives - Winter Wildlands Alliance

Mass Layoffs Devastate Public Lands

Emily Scott — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 22:16:05 +0000

Mass Layoffs Devastate Public Lands

Mass layoffs across federal land management agencies threaten the health and accessibility of public lands—here’s what’s at stake and how you can help.

On Valentine’s Day, the White House fired thousands of federal employees, including many of the people formerly tasked with stewarding our public lands. These layoffs targeted employees within their “probationary period,” (1-2 years on the job) and veterans hired through non-competitive processes. Agencies affected include the Forest Service, Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Who was impacted?

Across the public land agencies, most of the people who lost their jobs were those working to keep public lands accessible, sanitary, and ecologically healthy, including:

Entire trail crews maintaining paths for hikers, skiers, and snowshoes
Rangers welcoming visitors to National Parks
Recreation technicians with the thankless task of cleaning outhouses
Plow drivers clearing roads and parking lots
Field crews maintaining SNOTEL sites and weather stations
Weed control specialists protecting ecosystems
Many, many other “mission-critical” positions

Many of those fired were also trained wildland firefighters, essential to staffing up “Type 2” fire crews in the heat of fire season. In many cases, now-fired employees lived in agency housing and have now lost their homes in addition to their income and other benefits. And, in many cases these were people who’d worked for the government for years, sometimes even decades, but were within their probationary period due to a change in status from a seasonal to permanent employee, a promotion, or taking a new job at a different agency.

Why were they fired?

Rather than thoughtfully considering how to achieve their goal of making the government run more efficiently, the White House chose to target probationary employees because it’s easy to fire them without justification and was an easy way to shrink the federal workforce.

Thus, rather than actually identifying, much less solving, any problems or inefficiencies within the federal workforce, these mass layoffs destabilized land management agencies, wasted millions in taxpayer dollars, and left public lands severely understaffed.

While some layoffs have been reversed due to Congressional pressure on the White House and impacts to public lands are getting a lot of news, we need to keep fighting. We need to keep the pressure on Congress to reclaim its role as a check on the Executive Branch, its role in determining how our tax dollars are spent, and get lawmakers to stand up for public lands by demanding that all of the employees who care for these lands be reinstated.

Historical Context: A Decade-Long Decline in Public Land Staffing

Even before these layoffs, land management agencies were severely underfunded and understaffed. Over the last ten years, staffing at land management agencies has steadily declined even as visitation has increased.

Since 2010, the Park Service has seen a 20% reduction in full-time staff, despite a 16% increase in visitation during the same period. More than 1,000 Park Service employees were fired on Valentines Day. The effects of this were felt immediately. For example, cars backed up for an hour and a half to enter Grand Canyon National Park over President’s Day weekend because four of the Park Rangers who work the entrance were terminated.

The Forest Service was already grappling with significant budget shortfalls for years and already faced staffing shortages this year due to the agency’s hiring freeze on seasonal employees implemented in October. The Forest Service was hit particularly hard by the February layoffs because the agency recently converted many longtime seasonal employees into permanent positions. Because most Forest Service recreation staff work seasonally and were already off the table for this year or were recently converted to permanent employees and lost their jobs on Valentines Day, the layoffs decimated Forest Service recreation program. Similar scenarios played out across the agency’s weed control, research, and restoration programs.

Where does this mean for public lands?

The full extent of the recent layoffs is still coming into focus—because the termination notices came from the White House the agencies themselves are still learning the extent of jobs lost. And, it’s widely understood that more layoffs are coming, leaving federal employees walking on eggshells, unsure of whether they will have a job from one day to the next.

People will continue to flock to and recreate on public lands, but with limited staff to maintain recreation infrastructure or manage visitor impacts we will see:

Outhouses filled and locked
Toilet paper “flowers” blossoming across the landscape
Trash pile up within and beyond campfire rings
Impassable trails
Escaped campfires growing into wildfires
Infrastructure fall even further into disrepair
Long-term impacts to ecological health
Significant setbacks in scientific research

Nonprofits and the volunteers that they recruit have long been critical partners for public land agencies, but the non-profit community cannot fill the void left by a hollowed-out federal workforce. For one, volunteers are no substitute for professional crews. Second, much of the funding to support these stewardship and partnership programs was frozen or rescinded by the Trump Administration, forcing nonprofits to lay off or not hire the staff that would normally support public land agencies.

Setting the Stage for Public Land Sell-offs

To be clear, in addition to breaking the government, the ultimate goal of these actions is to sell off our public lands. Shrinking the workforce and leaving the public land agencies unable to meet their missions provides fodder for anti-public lands voices who argue that public lands would be better managed if transferred to the states or even sold to the private sector.

As we talked about ad nauseum during the first Trump administration, state lands are managed for profit, not public use, and states lack the resources to manage the vast federal land base. Thus, transferring federal public lands to the states is a quick stop on the road to privatization.

Help Defend Public Lands

Without adequate staffing and resources, our experiences outside, wild winters, and the outdoor recreation economy will suffer. Congress and the Administration must take quick action to protect the workforce that keeps our public lands safe, accessible, and well cared for.

Using the form below, please write to your lawmakers right now. It’s quick and easy to ask them to push back against cuts to land management agencies and demand that our public land stewards be reinstated!

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Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Winter Recreationists Can Help Protect Wildlife This Season

Emily Scott — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:50:45 +0000

Winter Recreationists Can Help to Protect Wildlife This Season

Give wildlife the space they need to survive the harsh winter months.

Why Winter is a Critical Time for Wildlife

Winter is a magical time to explore the backcountry, but for wildlife, it’s also the most challenging season for survival. Many big game species, including elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats, are especially vulnerable to human disturbance in winter.

Increased stress from human encounters jeopardizes these animal’s ability to survive into the following season and reduces females’ chances of successfully raising offspring. Disturbance on public land winter ranges can also push wildlife onto private lands or into transportation corridors. Thus winter disturbance can lead to significant herd and population declines, as well as increased road kill and game damage on private lands.

How Recreationists Can Reduce Their Impact

As a founding member of the Wintering Wildlife Conservation Initiative (WWCI), Winter Wildlands Alliance encourages all winter recreationists to take simple steps to reduce their impact on wildlife:

Give wildlife space – If you encounter wildlife, change your route and observe from a distance.
Know the rules – Be aware of winter habitat closures and seasonal restrictions.
Stay alert – Watch for signs of wildlife presence and be ready to adjust your plans.

By following these guidelines, you help ensure that wintering wildlife can survive and thrive through the season.

Spread Awareness: Download the WWCI Toolkit

Want to help spread the word? WWCI has created a social media toolkit for individuals, businesses, and organizations. This free resource includes shareable graphics and key messages to educate others about reducing wildlife disruption during winter.

Download the toolkit to help raise awareness in your community!

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT

For more information about the WWCI and to learn more about wintering wildlife, please visit www.winteringwildlife.org

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Bridger Sign Project – Aug 2024

Emily Scott — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 17:22:02 +0000

Bridger Ski Kind Stewardship Project Update

See how education, collaboration, and stewardship initiatives have been working to protect Montana’s Bridger Mountains again this season!

Photo by Hilary Eisen

(8/20/2024)

How does education play a role in conservation?

As Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Policy Director, I never thought I’d be in the sign business, but sometimes education is the most important part of conservation. Case in point: the Bridger Infrastructure Project.

Photos by Patrick Cross and Hilary Eisen

What makes the Bridger Mountains a recreational hotspot?

The Bridger Mountains, just north of Bozeman, serve up some of the best skiing in Montana. The range also boasts hundreds of miles of trails that provide recreation and access for snowmobiling, hiking, mountain biking, dirt biking, horseback riding, and ATV use.

The Gallatin National Forest completed a travel plan for this area in 2009, and the Forest Service has clearly defined which uses are allowed where, and when. However, with Bozeman’s rapidly growing population, not everybody is aware of the travel plan. There’s also a need for more responsible recreation education and general information about how and where to recreate in the Bridgers.

How are stakeholders working together?

Over the past year, Winter Wildlands Alliance has been working with a wide variety of recreation, conservation, and management stakeholders to improve and reduce the impacts of outdoor recreation in the Bridgers. You can read about our first season of work on this project here. This project is supported by a grant from the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Trail Stewardship Program.

Why is improved trail signage important?

This summer, we have been coordinating volunteers and with partner organizations to install new trail and trailhead signs across the Bridgers. By ensuring all of the trail intersections are clearly marked and that clear maps are available at each trailhead, this project will help people comply with the travel plan. Additionally, by providing information about how to recreate responsibly at each trailhead, we’re hoping people can take small individual actions to reduce the overall impact of recreation in this popular area.

What role does weed management play?

There is also a weed management aspect to the project, benefiting wildlife, ecosystem health, and visitor experiences. We’ve installed “boot brush” weed stations at some of the most popular trailheads, where people can clean weed seeds off of their shoes and learn about the noxious weeds in that specific area. Additionally, we’re ttreating noxious weed infestations along trail corridors.

Photos by Garth Neuffer

How does this project support the 2022 Forest Plan?

This project assists the Custer Gallatin National Forest in implementing the 2022 Forest Plan. The plan strives to reduce the spread of invasive species, sustainably manage recreation throughout the Bridgers, enhance recreation opportunities, and work with partners to emphasize winter recreation safety in the Bridger Recreation Emphasis Area.

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Educating Winter Recreationists

Emily Scott — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 22:07:08 +0000

Educating Winter Recreationists

Winter Wildlands Alliance, in collaboration with Tread Lightly, is leading educational initiatives to enhance winter travel plans on Stanislaus and Lassen National Forests, promoting responsible recreation for all.

Photo Display mock-up by Keri Davis @SharpEndDesigns

What has been accomplished?

After years of planning, winter travel plans have been completed on the Stanislaus and Lassen National Forests, and implementation is underway. A significant component of this implementation is education, achieved through new signage, brochures, and online resources. Winter Wildlands Alliance has been busy working on these educational materials in partnership with the long-time motorized recreation ethics promotor, Tread Lightly and with our grassroots partner, Snowlands Network.

What is the timeline?

We completed Stanislaus National Forest winter recreation materials in late August of 2024, and we anticipate all eleven of the new signs will be posted for winter 2024-2025.

The Summit Ranger District Ski and Snowshoe trail map was released in Spring of this year and includes versions in both Spanish and English to better support the diversity of winter visitors.

Summit Ranger District: Ski and Snowshoe Trail Map

Spanish Brochure

English Brochure

How will trip planning be made easier?

New maps help users understand the boundaries and restrictions put in place by the winter travel plan. Educational information encourages users to enjoy winter ecosystems safely and respectfully, and provides etiquette for interacting with other users.

Additionally, the newly completed, more user-friendly Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) map for the Calaveras Ranger District will help to make trip planning easier for all winter recreationists. Historically, the maps issued directly by the Forest Service are useful for land managers but are crowded and difficult to read for the average visitor. By designing more streamlined maps that everyone can read, responsible recreation becomes more accessible. These maps are posted at trailheads and online, accompanied by text on etiquette and safety considerations.

What is next?

The meetings we had planned to begin work with the Lassen National Forest to develop educational materials are on temporary pause while the forest responds to the Park Fire. Fortunately, we will be able to adapt the materials created for the Stanislaus, expediting the process once it can resume.

The collaboration between organizations representing all user groups in the implementation phase of winter travel planning in California sets a hopeful tone for the future of winter recreation management on all public lands.

Why is education important?

As rules are updated, new users join in the fun, and understandings of best practices improve, it is important for land managers and major user groups to keep people informed in order to lessen conflicts between users, wildlife, and the land. When expectations are clear, it minimizes violations and allows public land users to focus on enjoying their time outdoors rather than dealing with negative interactions or fellow users not respecting cherished areas. Winter Wildlands Alliance remains committed to working towards improved education for winter recreation users so that we can continue to enjoy the snowscapes that we love for generations to come.

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Introducing Wintering Wildlife Conservation Initiative 2024

Emily Scott — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 22:47:36 +0000

Wintering Wildlife Conservation Initiative

A collaborative effort seeks to educate winter recreationists on minimizing their impact on wildlife, particularly ungulates, during the challenging winter months.

January 23, 2024

Research shows that when ungulates are disturbed and stressed during the winter months their physical condition declines, as does their chances of successfully raising offspring, leading to significant herd and population declines. Meanwhile, new technologies have made both motorized and non-motorized winter backcountry recreation more popular, contributing to a sharp increase in user numbers in recent years. P

eople are also venturing further into the backcountry and into sub-optimal winter recreation areas (such as ungulate winter ranges) in search of solitude and untracked snow. This leads to more encounters between winter recreationists and wildlife and thus more stress for wildlife. Of course, most people don’t want to disturb wildlife, nor do they want to be responsible (even partially) for herd declines and animal deaths. However, lots of people also don’t understand how their activities can impact wildlife, or how to avoid or reduce their impacts.

In response to this growing conservation challenge, Winter Wildlands Alliance worked with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Colorado Mountain Club to develop a new campaign – the Wintering Wildlife Conservation Initiative (WWCI) – to educate winter recreationists about how to avoid, or minimize impacts to wildlife during sensitive winter months and provide tools to help guide decision-making. Much as we plan our ski days and make in-the-moment decisions based on an understanding of avalanche hazard, we can, and should, also incorporate information to reduce our impacts on wildlife into trip-planning and decision-making.

So, going back to those 5 points – what’s the story with each of them?

Winter is hard on wildlife: Ungulates do not hibernate. Instead, they survive off of the fat reserves they build through the summer and fall. Any excess movement or stress burns extra calories, depleting these reserves more quickly. If their reserves run out, their chances of survival are low. For females, even if they survive, their offspring for that year probably will not.

Know before you go: When you’re planning your winter adventures, think about wildlife and how current conditions may be affecting them. Consider how you might alter your plans if you do encounter wildlife (and learn to recognize fresh wildlife sign). Google your state’s wildlife management agency to learn where winter ranges are located and plan to avoid these areas. Be aware of and respect habitat closures. If you’re unsure, stick to designated roads and trails for winter travel. Many were located and designed with wintering wildlife in mind.

Do not disturb: Avoid disturbing and stressing wildlife in the winter and always keep your dog under control (and leashed, if wildlife may be near). If you do encounter wildlife, give them plenty of space and time. Quietly go around them (detouring uphill, if possible), or turn around and opt for your Plan B if you can’t avoid disturbing wildlife on your original route or objective that day. Keep in mind that disturbance doesn’t always equate to movement- even if an animal does not flee from you they are likely stressed by the encounter.

When to switch to Plan B: If you encounter wildlife or see fresh tracks, turn back or take another route. If you keep touring notes, make note of where you encounter wildlife in order to inform future decision-making.

‘Green-up’ doesn’t mean green light: “Green up” is when, after a long winter, there is finally green vegetation on the landscape again. This means more (and higher quality) food for wildlife. However, winter stress and disturbance have a cumulative impact and most winter ungulate mortality actually happens in the spring. Animals are at the very end of their energy reserves in spring, so even if it looks like they are “out of the woods” with green vegetation sprouting, they’re still trying to bulk up and recover. Continue to give them space!

Remember, impacts and stress to wildlife are cumulative, and they have a long, hard winter to endure no matter how dry or mild it may seem to you. Give wildlife space, plan ahead and prepare to minimize your impacts, and be flexible in your plans. Together, we can help protect wintering wildlife!

GET INVOLVED

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Boots on the Snow

Emily Scott — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:29:01 +0000

Boots on the Snow

Winter Wildlands Alliance Mobilizes Grassroots to Improve Backcountry Winter Recreation Management

Vehicles left for long periods of time in the Bucks Summit parking lot in January 2023, which affected plowing, in Plumas National Forest. Unceded Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Maidu lands

This write-up was originally featured in our Fall 2023 Trail Break issue.

In over a decade of work on National Forest winter recreation planning, WWA has found that there has been little to no real data to inform long-range management decisions. Outside of resort boundaries, nobody really seems to know how many people are out recreating each winter, where they’re going, what they’re doing, how their activities overlap or conflict with what other people are doing. Is there enough parking? Signage? Restrooms?

In order to build a clearer picture, and to inform planning with real data rather than just anecdotes from different users, WWA partnered with Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) to adapt the smart-phone-based Recreation Impact Monitoring (RIMS) mobile app for objective winter recreation data collection.

Winter Data Collection

The 2022-2023 winter marked the second full season of our national Winter Recreation Monitoring Program. Using CMC’s RIMS app, trained volunteers and nonprofit partners across 8 states and 18 National Forests collected data for on-the- ground winter visitor use assessments, to report winter recreation travel management violations and use conflicts, and to help inform Forest Service winter recreation planning and implementation. Altogether, 681 assessments and reports were collected during the winter season, with visitor use assessments being the most common type of data collected.

Violations and Conflict Reports

The winter violations and conflict reporting function in RIMS provides a centralized tool that does not serve as a real-time enforcement tool. Rather, it provides a way to track use conflict and travel management violations with verifiable, non-subjective data. Violation and Conflict reports are confidential and not viewable by other app users.

This past season, RIMS users reported incidents including resource damage, snowmachine use outside of designated areas, Wilderness encroachment, and motorized use on non-motorized trails. Incidents recorded via RIMS are entered into a national database that can be tracked across seasons to provide an understanding of persistent problems.

Other Assessments

In addition to visitor use monitoring, RIMS was also used to collect data on the condition of signs and other facilities, as well as road and trail conditions. These assessments are very useful for noting whether signs and facilities are up to standard, or if roads and trails have maintenance or grooming issues that need to be addressed.

Snow Rangers and Winter Backcountry Ambassadors

In addition to Teton Backcountry Alliance’s Backcountry Ambassador program on Teton Pass profiled in the Spring 2023 issue of Trail Break, this winter also marked the fourth season of the CMC Snow Ranger Program. A joint effort between CMC and the Forest Service, this program is based out of Montrose, Colorado, and splits its efforts between the Ouray and the Grand Valley Ranger Districts of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest. Snow rangers collect data using the RIMS app and also interact with and survey winter recreationists at key trailheads and in the field. The Forest Service provides a truck, trailer, snowmobiles, emergency communication devices, and fuel for the program, while CMC provides administrative overhead, uniforms, touring ski gear, and avalanche safety equipment.

Backcountry Ambassador and CA Data Manager, Claire Marvet, spent last winter tracking winter recreation use and promoting positive backcountry interactions across the Sierra Nevada. Unceded Miwok lands. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Plumas Wilderness

Over-Snow Vehicle (OSV) tracks by Obsidian Dome Road going by a sign that the area is closed to OSVs in Inyo National Forest. Unceded Northern Paiute lands. Photo by David Page @dtpage

An overflowing waste receptacle at Pinecrest Recreation Area in Stanislaus National Forest. Unceded Washoe and Miwok lands.

With in-kind support from Patagonia, WWA also began piloting a new Winter Backcountry Ambassador program in California, with preliminary efforts on the Stanislaus, Lassen, Plumas, and Inyo National Forests. Under the coordination of our first-ever seasonal California Data Manager, Claire Marvet, WWA worked with volunteers and grassroots partners across the Sierra Nevada, including Friends of the Plumas Wilderness, Friends of the Inyo, Snowlands Network, and Tahoe Backcountry Alliance. In addition to RIMS data collection, Backcountry Ambassadors worked to promote positive interactions between winter recreationists and to share winter etiquette, safety, and conservation tips with visitors in key areas where winter recreation is concentrated.

In partnership with specific National Forest units and the Pacific Southwest Region, WWA plans to further expand and formalize the Winter Backcountry Ambassador program this coming season, resulting in improved visitor experience, a reduction in winter use impacts, and an even-more robust RIMS dataset for future planning and implementation.

Stanislaus Winter Travel Plan Implementation

The Stanislaus is the first National Forest in the country to have finalized a Winter Travel Plan under the 2015 OSV Rule. It’s by no means a perfect plan in terms of conservation or improving and protecting human-powered recreation opportunities, but it’s much better than no plan at all, which is what existed before. Having invested seven years in the planning effort, WWA has now pivoted to partnering with the forest to ensure proper implementation and monitoring.

Read the Fall 2023 Trail Break

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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California Winter Recreation Data Collection Contest

Melinda Quick — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:02:30 +0000

California Winter Recreation Data Collection Contest

Get Outside to Win a Sweet Prize Package!

From January 1 – April 30, 2023, Winter Wildlands Alliance is hosting a California Winter Recreation Data Collection Contest using Colorado Mountain Club’s Recreation Impact Monitoring System (RIMS) mobile app.

Is the parking lot full? Is access to the trail blocked? Are the restrooms open or closed? Is the signage adequate? Is everyone being respectful of designations and other uses?

We need more data from actual winter recreationists in California to inform how winter recreation is managed on public lands and to ensure America’s wild snowscapes are protected for future generations. By using the RIMS app every time you go out, you can help land management agencies better understand what’s happening out there, and to address important winter recreation issues that impact us all.

How to Enter the Contest

Download the app to your phone via Google Play Store here or the Apple Store here.
Watch this short training video and take the online quiz linked at the end of the video.
Great, now you’re ready to get outside on public lands on skis, splitboard, snowshoes, snowmobile, fatbike, or however you enjoy wild winter landscapes. Starting at the trailhead, submit quick detailed assessments on your phone using the RIMS app, including coordinates and pictures.

Note: Downloadable winter recreation maps will be available to download within the app for use offline on the Stanislaus, Lassen and Inyo National Forests. Once maps are downloaded, the app can be used in the backcountry where there is no cell service. Reports are saved and uploaded when you return to service.

How to Win

WWA will choose a winner based on the highest number of quality, detailed RIMS Assessments submitted during the contest period on the following Sierra Nevada national forest units during the contest timeframe: Lassen, Plumas, Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), Eldorado, Stanislaus, Humboldt-Toiyabe, Inyo, Sierra and Sequoia.. This contest is open to the public.

Prizes

Osprey Pack
YETI cooler
2 YETI drinkware products
Ski Kind trucker
MountainFLOW eco-wax products
WWA beanie
2 free tickets to their closest BCFF screening in the 2023-24 tour season
Stickers

Remember, we all win by collecting data to help protect, sustain and give back to our public lands!

Where does the data go?

WWA and CMC will share reports with the Forest Service on a regular basis. In addition, most visitor use/facilities assessments are visible on the app for all users, so if you are monitoring a particular area with some frequency you will be able to track issues like parking and plowing. Violation and conflict reports are confidential but will be shared with Forest Service staff (for the purposes of planning, plan implementation, monitoring and management rather than for direct enforcement).

By providing a systematic method for volunteers to monitor winter recreation use on public lands, and to report specific issues and conflicts, we hope to help land managers better understand winter recreation use and trends in specific places. This will support our efforts to advocate for thoughtful winter travel planning, for additional Forest Service enforcement capacity in places where persistent Wilderness/non-motorized incursions occur, and investments in winter recreation infrastructure such as trailhead plowing, signage and educational resources, and facilities. This monitoring is also an essential component to implementation of new winter travel plans, such as the recently-completed Stanislaus OSV plan.

To learn more about using RIMS for winter recreation monitoring, check out the video embedded above. Prior to becoming a certified RIMS user, you must take the online tutorial available on the CMC website here.

Get the RIMS App

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The RIMS App: Winter Training

Melinda Quick — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:49:43 +0000

The RIMS App: Winter Training

The Recreation Impact Monitoring System (RIMS) mobile application is a smartphone-based data collection and analysis tool that provides winter recreation monitoring and data collection. Here’s how to use it.

In 2021, Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) and Colorado Mountain Club (CMC), a WWA grassroots group, announced a new tool for tracking and monitoring winter recreation.

Developed by CMC, the Recreation Impact Monitoring System (RIMS) mobile application is a smartphone-based data collection and analysis tool that has been used by trained volunteers since 2019 to collect data on trails, infrastructure, campsites and visitor use, and to share this data directly with land managers. In 2021, WWA was able to help CMC update the RIMS app to also provide for winter recreation monitoring and data collection.

You can download the RIMS app for free by searching “CMC RIMS” in the Google Play or Apple App Store, and learn more about it at https://www.cmc.org/conservation/rims-mobile-app/rims-mobile-app

How does it work?

Using the app, you can record winter recreation user numbers, parking issues, facility assessments, conflicts and violations, and other information about what you are encountering when you are at the trailhead or in the backcountry — along with GPS location, photos and other data necessary to provide a report to the Forest Service.

RIMS users can download basemaps for offline use in any Western state showing topography, land management, and Wilderness boundaries. Maps with best-available Forest Service winter travel management designations and restrictions are also available for download for national forests in California, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana (and will be updated as new designations are made through winter travel planning). Once maps are downloaded, the app can be used in the backcountry where there is no cell service. Reports are saved and uploaded when you return to service.

Where does the data go?

WWA and CMC will share reports with the Forest Service on a regular basis. In addition, most visitor use/facilities assessments are visible on the app for all users, so if you are monitoring a particular area with some frequency you will be able to track issues like parking and plowing. Violation and conflict reports are confidential but will be shared with Forest Service staff (and are more for the purposes of planning, plan implementation and management than for direct enforcement).

Get the RIMS App

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The Latest in Winter Recreation Tech: The RIMS App

Melinda Quick — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 17:14:05 +0000

The Latest in Winter Recreation Tech: The RIMS App

Introducing the Recreation Impact Monitoring System (RIMS) mobile application: a smartphone-based data collection and analysis tool that has been upgraded to now provide for winter recreation monitoring and data collection.

Photo provided by Colorado Mountain Club

Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) and Colorado Mountain Club (CMC), a WWA grassroots group, are excited to announce a new tool for tracking and monitoring winter recreation.

Now, in partnership with WWA, the RIMS app has been upgraded to also provide for winter recreation monitoring and data collection.

How does it work?

Where does the data go?

WWA and CMC will share reports with the Forest Service on a regular basis. In addition, most visitor use/facilities assessments are visible on the app for all users, so if you are monitoring a particular area with some frequency you will be able to track issues like parking and plowing. Violation and conflict reports are confidential but will be shared with Forest Service staff (and are more for the purposes of planning, plan implementation and management than for direct enforcement).

To learn more about using RIMS for winter recreation monitoring, check out the video embedded below. Prior to becoming a certified RIMS user, you must take the online tutorial available on the CMC website here.

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Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The Forest Service Doesn’t Want To Hear From You

Hilary Eisen — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 22:01:30 +0000

THE FOREST SERVICE DOESN’T WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Have you ever commented on a winter travel plan, forest plan revision, or other Forest Service project? You are able to do this because of a law known as the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.

NEPA was enacted in the 1970’s to ensure that government agencies make informed and transparent decisions, and to give the American public a voice in agency decision-making. Among other things, NEPA is the law that ensures that you get to have a say in how public lands are managed. NEPA is arguably the most important environmental law in the U.S. since it requires agencies – like the Forest Service – to alert the public and evaluate the potential impacts on the environment, recreation, and more when considering whether to approve a project or make changes in how public lands are managed. It’s what puts the public in public lands.

Industry groups and extractive companies who know their actions have a big effect on the environment would like to see NEPA rolled back to make it easier and faster for them to develop public lands. However, changes to NEPA could come at a big cost for the environment and for your ability to participate in decisions around public lands and waters.

Right now, the Forest Service is considering some broad, potentially devastating changes to how it implements NEPA that could drastically reduce your ability to have a voice over your public lands. Under the guise of increasing efficiency in environmental decision-making, the agency is proposing to create loopholes that would fast-track logging, road building, and other development on public land and cut back or eliminate public participation on the vast majority of all Forest Service projects.

The Forest Service is accepting comments on their proposed changes until August 12. We’ve made it easy to submit a comment directly to the Forest Service and would encourage everyone who cares about public lands to do so.

Here are some more details about what’s going on.

There are 3 levels of NEPA analysis: categorical exclusion, environmental assessment, and environmental impact statement. We could write a whole book on these, but all you need to know for now is that categorical exclusions involve a cursory amount of analysis and limited opportunity for public comment while environmental assessments and environmental impact statements are increasingly more detailed, require more analysis, and have more opportunities for public involvement. Generally, the more complex the project the more detailed the NEPA analysis.

Due to budget and staffing cuts, staff turnover, and inconsistencies in how NEPA is utilized across the Agency, the Forest Service is not always the most efficient when undertaking a NEPA analysis. However, rather than addressing these real and solvable issues, the Forest Service is proposing to gut NEPA in order to fast-track industrial and extractive development.

One really concerning thing about the Forest Service’s proposed revisions is that they’re seeking to eliminate the current requirement to conduct scoping for projects being considered under a categorical exclusion or environmental assessment. This means you’d be kept in the dark on up to 98% of Forest Service projects. Scoping is a key process that informs the public that a land management agency is considering changes, and is the only opportunity for the public to weigh in on a project that is “categorically excluded” from analysis. It’s also important for environmental assessments, because it gives the public an opportunity to weigh in on a project at the very beginning, and alerts people to the fact that the Forest Service is considering a project in the first place.

The changes would also eliminate public input beyond scoping. The Forest Service is proposing to adopt 7 new Categorical Exclusions and expand 2 existing Categorical Exclusions. These are essentially loopholes that allow projects to move forward without environmental review or public comment (except scoping, which they’re also hoping to get rid of). These new Categorical Exclusions include authorizing up to 6.6 square miles of commercial logging; converting illegal off-road vehicle routes to official Forest Service roads and trails, and building new roads – all without any public input or environmental analysis.

The Forest Service is also proposing to eliminate important protections for Inventoried Roadless Areas and potential Wilderness areas. Currently, if a project is proposed in either of these types of areas, it must be analyzed with an Environmental Impact Statement. Under the proposed revisions logging and other projects in these sensitive areas could be done under a Categorical Exclusion, shielding them from public scrutiny and environmental analysis.

Finally, the Forest Service is proposing a new way of dodging environmental analysis and public input – they’re calling it a “determination of NEPA adequacy”, or DNA. Using a DNA, the Forest Service could claim that an existing NEPA analysis can be applied to a new, different, project and therefore no further analysis or public input is necessary. This is a problem because the prior analysis could be outdated, doesn’t consider current outdoor recreation activities or changing landscapes, and wouldn’t have considered or analyzed the specific impacts of the new project.

If these revisions go through, you’ll be in the dark about most Forest Service projects. You may not even know that your local forest is considering building a new road or approving a new logging project, and litigation will be your only option for speaking up for the public lands you value. Cutting corners and disenfranchising the public is no way to manage our national forests.

The Forest Service is accepting public comments on these proposed revisions until August 12. It’s incredibly important that they hear from you about how these revisions would affect your ability to participate in public land management and in protecting public lands.

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