Panels + Agenda

Tuesday, Aug 24 at 10:00am MST

This past year has seen record-breaking visitation numbers and increased user impacts on public lands across the country. In this segment we discuss Recreate Responsibly, Ski Kind, and a variety of other efforts to instill responsible use ethics, exploring the difficult balance between equitable access and responsible (limited?) use.

Speakers: Corey Lewellen, Bozeman District Ranger, Custer Gallatin National Forest; Dana Watts, Leave No Trace; Danica Carey, Serius Innovations; Haley Caruso, Brand and Impact Manager at REI

Tuesday, Aug 24 at 12:00pm MST

The Over-Snow Vehicle Rule was finalized in 2015, ushering in a new era of managing winter motorized use on Forest Service lands. Finally, after 6 years, the first forests to adopt this new rule have published winter travel plans. We’ll dive into lessons learned and see how winter travel planning has brought balance to the backcountry on forests in the central and northern Sierra.

Speakers: Chris Carlton, Plumas National Forest; Darrel Jury, Friends of Plumas Wilderness; Jody Holzworth, USFS; Hilary Eisen, Winter Wildlands Alliance

Tuesday, Aug 24 at 2:00pm MST

Snow rangers and trail ambassadors educate winter visitors, track user data, and in some cases enforce winter travel restrictions. They have traditionally been Forest Service employees, but new partnerships between NGOs and the Forest Service are expanding what it means to be a snow ranger – increasing capacity to meet growing demand as winter recreation numbers climb and Forest Service budgets shrink.

Speakers: Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund; Julie Mach, Colorado Mountain Club; Kate Demorest, White River National Forest

Wednesday, Aug 25 at 10:00am MST

The Forest Service manages 154 National Forests across the country, home to some of the best places to backcountry ski, snowshoe, cross country ski, and play in the snow. But as the popularity of outdoor recreation and use of public lands increases, funding for the Forest Service and other land management agencies has not kept up. We’ll discuss the history behind the Forest Service funding crunch, and what might be done to fix it.

Speakers: Betsy Roblee, The Mountaineers; Mike Splain, Resources Legacy Fund; Erin Uloth, USFS

Wednesday, Aug 25 at 12:00pm MST

Ski areas across the country are looking to expand and in many cases this means developing places that are currently used by backcountry skiers and/or wildlife. Ski area expansions can impact nearby communities, too, for better or worse. Join us to discuss ski area expansions, learn more about how the Forest Service makes decisions about these projects, and help us brainstorm how the decision-making process around ski area management could be improved.

Speakers: Carl Fisher, Save Our Canyons; Geraldine Link, National Ski Areas Association; Shawn Hill, Valley Advocates for Responsible Development; Don Dressler, USFS Rocky Mountain Region Mountain Resort Program Manager

Wednesday, Aug 25 at 2:00pm MST

With more and more people catching the outdoor recreation bug by way of their social media feeds, what is the role of the influencer (and their sponsors) in shaping behavior and protecting special places?

Speakers: Ailsa Walsh, Leave No Trace; Connor Ryan, Natives Outdoors; Dani Reyes-Acosta, Athlete / Educator / Strategist / Storyteller; Vasu Sojitra, WWA Ambassador / Disability Access Strategist / Athlete