Letter from Anneka Williams, Policy Director, 10/29/25

Winter Wildlands has been hard at work putting the finishing touches on our 2025 Backcountry Film Festival. The Festival kicks off with a premiere in Boise, ID on November 6, 2025 and the series will be touring through Spring 2026. Keep an eye out for screenings near you! The Festival really complements our policy work by telling stories that remind us why we love winter and why we remain so committed to protecting it. 

Here’s what our policy team has been up to over the past month. 

DC Lobbying Trip

I was in Washington D.C. last week for the Outdoor Alliance fly-in. Despite the government shut down, we were still able to meet with staffers and members. Priority issues in our discussions included support for maintaining the Roadless Rule, reauthorizing the Legacy Restoration Fund, and addressing capacity issues for federal land management agencies. 

Ambler Road

Earlier this month, President Trump signed an order to reverse the Bureau of Land Management’s 2024 decision denying right of way for the Ambler Road project. This move, once again greenlights development for a 211-mile long road through the Brooks Range that would serve private and foreign mining interests in Alaska’s Arctic.

In 2020, Winter Wildlands Alliance joined a coalition of nine groups on a lawsuit to challenge the first Trump Administration’s decision to approve the Ambler Road project, which would provide access to the Ambler mining district in the Brooks Range. Our litigation forced the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This process ultimately led to a 2024 decision by the BLM to block construction of Ambler Road by denying right of way, a decision which reflected tens of thousands of public comments and close scrutiny of the potential environmental impacts of this project. This decision was overturned by the Trump administration earlier this month.

We are tracking this issue closely and are ready to continue to engage in opposing the Ambler Road project. 

Travel Management Rule Defense

As we mentioned in our last policy update, we are anticipating a proposed repeal of the Travel Management Rule (TMR) in the coming months. Travel Management is the process by which the Forest Service designates specific trails and areas for motorized use. It can be thought of as a type of comprehensive “zoning” where some areas are designated for motorized use, and other trails and areas are set aside for human-powered recreation, or to protect wildlife and their habitat. We have been working across a coalition of groups to begin to mount a defense campaign for TMR.

If you have any ideas, questions, or want to chat more about travel management, please reach out to me at: awilliams@winterwildlands.org. 

Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act

Earlier this month, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced he had introduced a new piece of legislation: the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill is also sponsored by Senator John Curtis (R-UT). This bill, which was developed without consulting the broader disability community, would prioritize motorized recreation, would prevent federal land managers from closing roads, and could lead to revisions to travel management plans, among other things. The bill appears to use adaptive recreation as a scapegoat to further advance an agenda that favors development and unsustainable use of our public lands.

We are working with disability advocates, people with lived experiences, and other conservation groups to track this bill. 

Grassroots Group Support

This past month, I was able to coordinate directly with several grassroots groups to support local efforts to protect access to backcountry recreation and winter landscapes. Winter Wildlands signed onto a comment letter with Friends of Mission Ridge addressing the DEIS for proposed expansion of Mission Ridge Ski Area.

We are also coordinating with Wasatch Backcountry Alliance to support a Town of Brighton ordinance that would help protect backcountry access, watersheds, and natural landscapes in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Our grassroots partners are one of the main ways Winter Wildlands Alliance engages with local issues. Have something you need support on? Let us know!

Gearing Up For Winter

Early season snow is starting to fly and we’ve even had reports of folks who have already gotten out on skis! As we gear up for the winter, some of our work involves implementation of completed winter travel plans.

For example, our California Stewardship Manager is helping coordinate the construction of new sign kiosks at the Crabtree Winter Trailhead, which provides one of the few opportunities for quiet human powered winter recreation on the 108 corridor on the Stanislaus National Forest. We’re also coordinating with local partners in California to hire new winter ambassadors to help with data collection efforts on California forests. Collecting data on visitor use can help us evaluate the implementation of existing winter travel plans or make the case for the winter travel planning process. 

As always, reach out with questions or if you need help with anything. You can reach me at: awilliams@winterwildlands.org. 

Onwards, 

Anneka Williams, Policy Director