Protecting the Backcountry

Working for Solutions and Taking the Long View

Winter Wildlands Alliance is dedicated to preserving winter wildlands and quality human-powered snowsports experiences on public lands. We represent a growing community of backcountry and Nordic skiers, splitboarders, snowshoers, climbers, climate researchers, and other human-paced winter explorers, from Maine to California to Alaska. Our members, and the members of our 33 different grassroots groups in 15 states, deeply value natural winter soundscapes and the opportunity for refuge and respite afforded by the last remaining places across the United States where solitude, fundamental wildness and non-motorized experiences are preserved. From the backcountry to Washington D.C., Winter Wildlands Alliance works with land managers, elected officials, grassroots groups and other partners to pursue a balanced, adaptive and collaborative approach to winter recreation management for the long-term protection of the places where we recreate and seek adventure.

NATIONAL FOREST PLANNING

Many National Forests across the country are undertaking forest plan revisions. Forest plans are guiding documents that set general management direction for a national forest for 15-30 years. Participating in forest plan revision is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the long-term future of national forests.

Alaska

Chugach National Forest (Alaska Quiet Rights Coalition)

California

Inyo National Forest (Outdoor Alliance, Friends of the Inyo)
Sierra & Sequoia National Forests (Outdoor Alliance)

GRASSROOTS-LED EFFORTS

Much of our work directly supports efforts led by our grassroots groups at the local level. We assist by providing policy expertise, organizing tools, and/or amplification of issues and projects they are working on. Here are some examples:

Mountain Accord/Central Wasatch legislation, UT (Wasatch Backcountry Alliance, Outdoor Alliance)
Stemilt Basin winter recreation plan, WA (El Sendero Backcountry Ski and Snowshoe Club)
Moose Mountain Backcountry Ski Area, MN (Superior Highlands Backcountry)
NH/VT glading projects (Granite Backcountry Alliance, Vermont Backcountry Alliance)
Copper Basin Area Plan, AK (Alaska Quiet Rights Coalition, other local skiers)

NATIONAL POLICY AND ADVOCACY (WITH OUTDOOR ALLIANCE)

Working on and supporting legislation to protect public lands and improve recreation opportunities and management
Advocating for permanent reauthorization and funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund
Advocating for adequate and sustainable appropriations for land management agencies
Working for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Outdoors
Defending the Roadless Rule in Alaska, Utah and beyond
Working on National Environmental Policy Act reform
Working on Forest Service Environmental Assessment and Decision Making reform

CLIMATE ACTION

The human-powered winter sports community, one of the fastest growing segments of the recreation economy, is on the front lines of climate change. Our members—backcountry skiers and snowboarders, Nordic skiers, polar explorers, mountain guides, ice climbers, winter fat bikers, snowshoers and snow scientists—live and work and play in some of the most climate-impacted regions on the planet. Working with land managers, outdoor industry partners, and 39 grassroots groups in 17 states, we advocate for public lands policies that mitigate and respond to a shifting climate, protecting threatened winter ecosystems, accessible non-motorized snowscapes, critical watersheds, healthy forests, and sustainable mountain town economies. We are also committed to climate education and outreach through our national SnowSchool program, engaging more than 33,000 kids annually across 65 outdoor education sites, and our Backcountry Film Festival, which tours 100 communities nationwide and reaches more than 30,000 people each season.

Speak Up Now for Climate Solutions

Join our Outdoor Alliance partners in pushing lawmakers to take immediate action!

OVER-SNOW VEHICLE (OSV) PLANNING

In 2015, in part because of our work, the Forest Service issued new national guidelines for planning how and where winter motorized use can occur on our National Forests. This new rule was a huge step forward for human-powered recreation, because for the first time the Forest Service is required to implement a “zoning” approach to the backcountry, with some trails and areas designated for motorized use and other areas set aside for non-motorized users or wildlife. Please visit our Winter Travel Management page to learn more.

Montana

Kootenai National Forest – 10 Lakes area (Montana Wilderness Association)
Bitterroot National Forest (Montana Wilderness Association) – completed May 2016

Wyoming

Shoshone National Forest (Wyoming Wilderness Association, Togwotee Backcountry Alliance, Beartooth Recreation Trails Association)

Idaho

Sawtooth National Forest – north zone of the Fairfield Ranger District (Idaho Conservation League)

California

OTHER PUBLIC LANDS PLANNING

Kathadin Woods and Waters National Monument winter use plan (Granite Backcountry Alliance)
Lookout Pass/Stephens Peak Backcountry Area (Inland Northwest Backcountry Alliance, Spokane Mountaineers, Montana Backcountry Alliance, Idaho Conservation League)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Backcountry and Wilderness Management Plan (Alaska Quiet Rights Coalition)

ADDRESSING WINTER RECREATION IMPACT ON WILDLIFE

21st Century Approaches to Collaboration and Management: Wolverines & Winter Recreation (with Idaho Conservation League, Montana Wilderness Association, Wyoming Wilderness Association, and other conservation partners and snowmobile organizations) — This project is supported by the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

Working to protect bighorn sheep winter habitat in the Tetons (Teton Backcountry Alliance)

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

Winter Wildlands Alliance is directly engaged in collaborative land and recreation management planning in all of the places where our staff are located. These include:

Payette Winter Forum (ID)
Gallatin Forest Partnership (MT)
Custer Gallatin Working Group (MT)
Eastern Sierra Recreation Collaborative (CA)
Lassen National Forest OSV Stakeholder Group (CA)
Tahoe National Forest OSV Stakeholder Group (CA)

Action, Policy

Winter in the Boundary Waters is Silence, Amplified

Just before Christmas, a Chilean company submitted its plan for sulfide-ore copper mining at the headwaters of the 1.1 million-acre Wilderness area in northeastern Minnesota. Take action now.

Policy Update, Roadless

We Asked the Forest Service to Protect the Tongass

In response to the U.S. Forest Service's proposal to exempt the Tongass from the Roadless Rule—a move that would lift protections and expose a vitally important landscape to logging and resource extraction—we support Alternative #1, No Action.

Action, Advocacy, Alaska, Roadless

Action Alert: Speak Up for the Tongass and the Roadless Rule

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed to exempt the Tongass from the Roadless Rule, which would open a vital carbon sink to logging and mining. The deadline for public comment is December 17. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the United States—17 million acres of temperate rainforest that stretches down the panhandle in Southeast Alaska. Home to old growth trees and tons of wildlife, including whales, salmon, bears, and bald eagles, the Tongass also holds tremendous value for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. The U.S. Forest Service estimates the Tongass stores 10 to 12 percent of the total carbon captured by America’s national forests. Right now, the U.S. Forest Service has proposed exempting the entire Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Why does this matter? The Roadless Rule is an important tool that protects wild landscapes on U.S. Forest Service lands. The proposal would open the world’s largest remaining temperate rainforest—a critical resource in the fight against climate change—to logging. For reasons of conservation, recreation, and climate action, we can't let this happen.

Action, Tahoe, Winter Travel Planning

Snowmobiling Every Other Day in Lake Tahoe?

Since the Forest Service published a Proposed Action in late September that outlines a preliminary management plan for all types of backcountry winter recreation on public lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin, we’ve been hearing from all sides that their proposal is far from perfect. Now, the Forest Service is asking for your input on how to make it better for everyone. Submit your comment directly to the Forest Service. The deadline for public comment on the Proposed Action for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is December 9th. At an open house for over-snow vehicle planning in Tahoe last week, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor Jeff Marsolais said this is just the start of the process. Right now, we are consulting with our local partners in Tahoe—Snowlands Network and the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance. And as we write our comments in response to the Forest Service’s proposed action, we encourage you to do the same.

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization promoting and
preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports
experience on public lands.

Working for Solutions and Taking the Long View

Alaska

California

Colorado

Montana

Idaho

Montana

Wyoming

Idaho

California

Winter in the Boundary Waters is Silence, Amplified

We Asked the Forest Service to Protect the Tongass

Action Alert: Speak Up for the Tongass and the Roadless Rule

Snowmobiling Every Other Day in Lake Tahoe?

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