The Plumas National Forest strikes a balance for winter recreation in the over-snow vehicle plan, carrying on a long legacy of backcountry skiing in the Lost Sierra.

I climbed a number of hills this month: after Capitol Hill, I went to the Wind River range for some backcountry climbing. And throughout it all, we have been planning the 8th Biennial Grassroots Advocacy Conference.

In response to the proposed revisions to their NEPA regulations, we sent the U.S. Forest Service a 12-page letter outlining in detail our critiques and comments about their revisions. Our most pressing concern is how far the Forest Service goes to scale back public engagement and environmental analysis.

We, and the rest of the world, are outraged by the fires in the Amazon. Besides eating less Brazilian beef and donating to environmental NGOs that protect the Amazon, there’s really not much we can do. But there is something we can do to save the world’s largest temperate rain forest: Alaska’s 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, which is also facing imminent threats of destruction.

The bell is ringing for the new school year. And we’re gearing up for another season of SnowSchool, our program that takes the classroom outside in the middle of winter to teach kids about snow with a science-based, experiential curriculum.  We have big things in store for this year’s program—including a partnership with NASA to turn our students into citizen scientists! (Stay tuned for more information on that big news.) To get our brains back in shape, here’s a bit of snow trivia that may come in handy at some point on a long, flat stretch of skin track this winter. 

Introducing the Keynote Speaker to for the 8th Biennial Grassroots Advocacy Conference and Wild Weekend: James Edward Mills.