Policy and Advocacy Resources
This section is home to a growing list of resources pertinent to both individual recreationists as well as our Grassroots Groups, including: trends and the economic impact of winter backcountry recreation, winter recreation opportunities on public lands, the environmental impacts of winter over-snow vehicles and other tools to help get you informed and effectively engage in the issues that matter your group or favorite backcountry area.
We are currently in the process of building out these resources, so if you don’t see what you are looking for a particular resource please Contact Us.
Memorandum of Understanding
Guide to Commenting in Land Management Processes
Winter Recreation Management On National Forests
- Winter Recreation Planning Case Studies, June 2014
- Best Management Practices for Forest Service Travel Planning, April 2015 (full report)
Best Management Practices for Forest Service Travel Planning (peer-reviewed articles published July 2016)
- Snowmobile Best Management Practices for Forest Service Travel Planning: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Recommendations for Management – Introduction to Snowmobile Management and Policy
- Snowmobile Best Management Practices for Forest Service Travel Planning: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Recommendations for Management –
Water Quality, Soils, and Vegetation - Snowmobile Best Management Practices for Forest Service Travel Planning: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Recommendations for Management – Wildlife
- Snowmobile Best Management Practices for Forest Service Travel Planning: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Recommendations for Management – Winter Recreational Use Conflict
Trends & Economic Contribution of Human-Powered Snowsports
Teton-West Yellowstone Region Backcountry Winter Recreation Economic Impact Analysis, 2013:
What the Science Says About Snowmobiles
Winter Recreation on Western National Forest Lands: A Comprehensive Analysis of Motorized and Non-Motorized Opportunity and Access
Leave No Trace Ethics for Backcountry Snowsports
(adapted in conjunction with Winter Wildlands Alliance and Vermont Backcountry Alliance, partners of the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics)
From the Resort to the Backcountry – 10 tips for being safe and responsible in and out of bounds
Current Efforts
Skiing Sustainably: Embrace the Eco-FlowFebruary 26, 2021 - 5:04 pmEco-friendly and high performance should not be mutually exclusive. We dive into the rise of eco-wax and the slow demise of fluorinated wax.
- The Importance of Wilderness for Snow ScienceFebruary 25, 2021 - 8:28 am
Why non-motorized areas are important for data collecting and how SnowSchool provides real time data for NASA research through SnowEx
- We Are HereFebruary 3, 2021 - 8:03 pm
I didn’t realize how much weight I was bearing — how much baseline discomfort; how much sadness, stress and loneliness — until I acknowledged it, and then slowly began to let it go.
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization promoting and
preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports
experience on public lands.
