Posts Tagged ‘2011’
As we enter a new year, all of us here at the Access Fund would like to thank you for your support in 2011 and share our Top 10 victories from the year.
1. Mobilized climbing conservation with the launch of the Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team, staffed with expert trail builders who travel the country 10 months of the year, improving climbing access trails and helping climbers and land managers create long term stewardship plans for their local crags. The Conservation Team completed eight projects from Kentucky to California in their first two months on the road.
2. Continued to strengthen the grassroots climbing advocacy network by hosting the National Access and Stewardship Summit, which brought together climbers from across the Americas to share best practices in climbing stewardship, land conservation, policy, and local support and mobilization.
3. Prevented astronomical fee increases for climbing Mount Denali and Rainier, showing the federal government there needs to be public participation prior to implementing drastic recreation fee increases and that climbers are willing to pay their fair share but will not be an ATM when budgets get tight. Read the rest of this entry »
“You’re going to Texas to rock climb? Really?”
“We’re going to Hueco, as in Hueco Tanks- not W-A-C-O,” I replied to my non-climbing friends at work just before quitting my job.
Hueco Tanks State Park is recognized as America’s best bouldering area twenty miles east of El Paso, Texas. Climbers come from all over the world in the winter months to boulder here. Our Spanish friends, including the acclaimed Berta Martin Sancho, traveled a full twenty four hours just to spend a few weeks at this magical place. It is inspiring to witness all the talented climbers and to be able to share this common bond.
So, I have a confession to make- I suck at bouldering. It’s my biggest weakness as a climber. I’ve only been outside bouldering a handful of times, and I struggled on the warm-ups. I realize the only way to get stronger is to work on your weaknesses, but this was downright humiliating. I originally thought of Hueco as a means to get strong, but I dreaded the idea of not being on a rope for weeks. Arg- I guess I should do some “practice climbing” to build power for hard cruxes on routes. Two years ago I visited Hueco for the first time and tried a classic V7 called Daily Dick Dose. I probably shouldn’t have worked on a problem that hard, given that I only had a few V5s under my belt. But something about this climb intrigued me. It seemed so simple- basically three hard moves- gymnastic and steep. I felt a little pressure to attempt to boulder harder. I had made small progress on the problem years ago, but failed to complete it on my short ten day stint.
When we arrived in Hueco a month ago, I really wanted to revisit this boulder problem, and thought I must be able to do it by now- I felt stronger. Nope- the moves still felt nearly impossible- how could this be? I thought I’d never break the V7 barrier. It would be the long-standing joke, “Ha, ha! Heather can climb 5.13 but can’t boulder V7- isn’t that funny! Ha!”
Chris and I originally planned to spend only a week or so in Hueco, but we were hooked! Even though I sucked, bouldering was definitely growing on me- there’s nothing like the energy of seasoning with a good group of friends. We spent Thanksgiving in Colorado, then maniacally returned. We talked about goals of the trip, and I really wanted to send a V7- that was my only real climbing goal of the trip. For me, climbing this grade would be a breakthrough- I could finally move on. Chris rolled his eyes and said I’d be climbing that in no time- I thought no way- my confidence was at a low.
Our second day back to Hueco I felt a bit stronger, I had just a little more core and lock-off ability. I attempted the problem, and no! It couldn’t be! The moves still felt horrendous and nearly impossible. I felt defeated. After laying flat on my back for a minute, rehearsing the moves in my head, I knew I had to get even. I had to try my absolute hardest. I pulled on with a renewed and fiery spirit and to my surprise I was able to do the first move! About ten tries later, with each try feeling a little stronger, I was able to link the moves I’d had trouble performing before individually. I had to fight, but I did it! I sent my first V7. Phew- I can move on with my life.
The last two days of trip I did two V8s- what a surprise! I finally began to feel a little bit like a “real” boulderer.
The mental strength required to deal with repeated failure is the toughest part of climbing and, for that matter, many aspects of life. Eventually, if you work hard enough for something you are passionate about, you can succeed. We all have days we feel unaccomplished and it is a struggle to keep on trying- like getting schooled on the warmups. For me, the harder I work on something, the more satisfaction I ultimately receive- even if it is just V7.
~Heather Robinson, prAna Ambassador
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The San Diego Blood Bank-mobile came to the prAna HQ for a day of giving… or taking as the case may be. prAna employees as well folks from several local businesses kept the staff busy for nearly 5 straight hours. Happy Holidays!
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2011 was another great year for the Conservation Alliance and we are looking forward to supporting them again as they prepare for an even better 2012
$1 million in 2011: Funding Program
Thanks to our members – 175 companies dedicated to the protection of wild places for their habitat and recreation values – The Conservation Alliance contributed $1,050,000 to 35 organizations working to protect special wild lands and waters throughout North America. This marks the first time in our history that we have contributed more than $1 million in a single year. In 2011, our grantees succeeded in protecting 1,023,251 acres of wild lands and 24 river miles, removing one dam, acquiring one climbing area, and designating two marine reserves.
Please see below for details on these exciting success stories.
Members Stepping Up: Pinnacle Members
In 2011, two companies – Columbia Sportswear and Merrell – became our newest Pinnacle Members. This membership level, announced last year, is for companies who contribute at least $100,000 annually to The Conservation Alliance. These two additions join Eastern Mountain Sports, KEEN, Inc., Patagonia, Inc., REI, and The North Face at our highest membership level. We expect to announce additional above-and-beyond contributions in 2012.
Partnering With Grantees: Walking the Talk
The Conservation Alliance recognizes that businesses have a unique and powerful voice in policy decisions. We facilitate opportunities for our members to lend their business voices to help conservation campaigns. Whether writing letters in support of a conservation effort or traveling to Washington, DC to talk to Congress about protecting a special wild place, our members use their voices to make a difference. In 2011, we organized three trips to Washington during which our members met with Congressional offices about the importance of protecting specific Wilderness areas. We also worked closely with our colleagues in the conservation community to oppose Congressional efforts to undermine essential conservation laws and policies.
Getting Our Hands Dirty for Conservation: Backyard Collectives
Our Backyard Collectives bring together member company employees and local grantees for a day of environmental action. These events allow our members to get out of the office and get their hands dirty working to preserve and protect the open spaces in their own backyards. Projects include trail work, re-vegetation, invasive species removal, and other creative projects that make a difference in local communities and ecosystems. In 2011, The Conservation Alliance organized eight Backyard Collectives in: Berkeley, CA: Santa Barbara, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Denver, CO; Peterborough, NH; Portland, OR; and Bend, OR. The events brought together more than 600 member company employees and 20 grantees to accomplish much-needed trail work, invasive species removal, and habitat restoration.
2011 Conservation Victories
1,020,755 acres of land protected. 24 river miles protected. One dam removed.
One climbing area acquired. Two marine reserves designated.
EPA Halts Mountaintop Removal Mine: Conservation Alliance grantee Appalachian Voices, was instrumental in protecting the 2,300 acres and six miles of headwater streams surrounding the proposed Spruce No.1 Mine in West Virginia. The Spruce Mine would have been the largest coal mine of its kind in the US. The action protects some of America’s most diverse forests and rivers, and sets a precedent that EPA may regulate mountaintop removal mining under the Clean Water Act.
Jailhouse Rock Acquisition: The Conservation Alliance was one of the lead supporters of the Access Fund’s campaign to purchase and preserve access to Jailhouse Rock, a popular climbing crag near Sonora, California. This successful effort includes a long-term plan to manage the impacts of climbers at the area.
John Day River Land Acquisition: The Conservation Alliance supported Western Rivers Conservancy‘s John Day River Project to permanently protect more than 19,000 acres along 18 miles of Oregon’s John Day River. WRC purchased the property in 2008. Our funding supported their efforts to transfer 16,114 acres of this land to Oregon State Parks. This transfer is complete and the grand opening of the new Cottonwood Canyon State Park is slated for 2013.
Connecticut River Watershed: The Trust for Public Land used our funding to support its campaign to protect the Upper Connecticut River Watershed of Vermont and New Hampshire and preserve its forests, streams, and muscle-powered recreation opportunities. The campaign focused on three separate conservation projects covering 2,341 acres. The Deerfield River project protected 680 acres of land and transferred it to the Green Mountain National Forest. The Brushwood Community Forest Expansion added 580 acres to an existing protected forest. The Gardner Mountain project secured a conservation easement on 1,081 acres.
Condit Dam Removal: Back in 1993, The Conservation Alliance funded American Whitewater for its campaign to implement a plan to improve recreational access to the nation’s whitewater rivers and streams. A major component of that effort was to restore the White Salmon River in Washington State by removing the Condit Dam. Nearly 20 years later, this project succeeded with the breaching of the dam, and restoration of six miles of the White Salmon River.
Grand Canyon Uranium Mining Ban: The Grand Canyon Trust used Conservation Alliance funding to play a lead role in the successful effort to convince the Interior Department to impose a 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims on one million acres of land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. The ban provides long-term protection for one of the crown jewels of the National Park System.
Oregon Marine Reserves: We supported Our Ocean’s Oregon Marine Heritage Campaign to designate and implement Oregon’s first-ever, coast-wide network of at least six ecologically significant marine reserves and protected areas. These are areas within Oregon’s Territorial Sea or adjacent rocky intertidal area that are protected from all extractive activities. In 2011, the State of Oregon designated the first two of those reserves at Otter Rock and Red Fish Rocks totaling 3.9 square miles of nearshore waters.
UPDATE: The Conservation Alliance 2011 Annul Report is HERE.
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