The third Backyard Collective of the season brought more than 30 volunteers from San Diego based member companies Eagle Creek, Ocean Minded and STM Bags out of the office and onto the trails.  Partnering with the Escondido Creek Conservancy, based out of Escondido, California, the San Diego Backyard Collective focused on a trail building project in Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve. This hard working group of volunteers built a rock trail that linked the main trailhead at Elfin Forest to the park’s interpretive center.

Jeff Anderson, Park Ranger of the Elfin Forest Recreation Reserve said this about ConservationNEXT and the San Diego Backyard Collective event:

“Through the cooperation of groups like yours who unselfishly give back to the community and environment, parks like ours are able to provide a more rewarding and inspiring experience to those who visit our great parks and open spaces.  In turn, hopefully they too will be inspired to give back after experiencing and appreciating what so many people are becoming detached from now days.  Undisturbed open space is a precious commodity in the area we live.  Your investment in the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve will touch countless others and has made our park a better place.  Thank you very much.”

After a day of hard work, volunteers were treated to a BBQ lunch, complete with beverages provided by BYC sponsor, Stone Brewing Company.

A huge thanks to Deanna Lloyd (The Forest Group), the Escondido Creek Conservancy, Eagle Creek, Ocean Minded, STM Bags, Prana, and Patagonia for providing support, raffle donations and volunteers to yet another successful Backyard Collective!

We are planning additional Backyard Collective events in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Portland, Denver, Bend, and elsewhere. Click here for details.

Protecting mountains in Appalachia from mountaintop removal, to saving a climbing wall in Washington for future generations, and working to remove four dams on the Lower Snake River, our member companies stepped it up this season to protect the wild places we love. Thank you!

And congratulations to the passionate and dedicated folks working hard on the ground to ensure we have free-flowing rivers, wild mountains and clean oceans to explore! Please see below and read more about these great causes!

Adirondack Mountain Club (Lake George, NY)  $25,000
Save Allegheny State Park – To protect Allegheny State Park from proposed hydro-fracking mining by purchasing sub-surface mineral rights by the state, or by designating the area a Park Preserve.

Appalachian Mountain Club (Boston, MA)  $25,000
Campaign to Protect and Promote Maine’s 100 mile Wilderness Region – To protect at least 60,000 acres of new conservation lands adjacent to 66,500 acres of existing AMC conservation lands in the 100-Mile Wilderness Region of Maine.

Appalachian Voices (Boone, NC) $35,000
Stop Mountaintop Removal Campaign – To protect some of America’s most diverse forests and rivers from the devastating practice of mountaintop removal mining by passing a law while fighting ongoing mining permit by permit until the practice can be outlawed.

California Wilderness Coalition (Oakland, CA)    $25,000
California Desert and San Gabriel Mountains Wilderness Campaigns- To pass legislation protecting up to 1.6 million acres of public land in California’s desert and San Gabriel Mountains.

Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society – Yukon (Whitehorse, Yukon)  $35,000
Peel River Watershed Campaign - To secure strong protection for all or most of the Peel watershed, with significant First Nations participation in long term policymaking and management.

Grand Canyon Trust (Flagstaff, AZ)  $30,000
Grand Canyon Uranium Mining Campaign - To protect one million acres around the Grand Canyon from uranium exploration and mining through legislation or by securing a 20-year mineral withdrawal from the Interior Department.

Idaho Rivers United (Boise, ID) $25,000
Lower Salmon Wild & Scenic Campaign - To permanently protect 112 miles of the Lower Salmon River in Idaho as a federally designated Wild and Scenic River.

Montana Wilderness Association (Helena, MT) $25,000
Montana Forests Campaign - To designate 670,000 acres of new wilderness throughout Montana, thus setting the stage for the Rocky Mountain Front, Scotchman Peaks, Great Burn, and many other deserving landscapes to be designated in the future. 

Our Ocean (Portland, OR) $30,000
Oregon Marine Heritage Campaign - To establish a coast-wide network of at least six marine reserves and protected areas in Oregon waters to ensure that this coastal legacy will be here for future generations of Oregonians.

Rivers Without Borders (Juneau, AK)  $20,000
Safeguarding the Taku Watershed Campaign – To protect the Taku River Watershed from proposed mining developments that would diminish this virtually pristine watershed and its abundant wild salmon.

Save Our Wild Salmon (Spokane, WA)  $25,000
Columbia and Snake River Campaign - To restore wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers by removing the lower Snake dams, and implementing a full spill/flow regime through Columbia River dams.

Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition (Asheville, NC) $30,000
Tennessee Wilderness Campaign - To secure permanent Wilderness protection for at least 18,000 acres in the Cherokee National Forest for outdoor recreation, biodiversity protection, climate change buffering, headwaters protection and wildlife migration.

Washington Climbers Coalition (Seattle, WA) $15,000
Index Lower Town Wall Acquisition Campaign - To purchase the Index Lower Town Wall with property improvements complete, management by the Washington State Parks Department in place, and climbing access secured for future generations.

Wilderness Support Center (Durango, CO)  $30,000
San Juan Mountains Wilderness Campaigns - To permanently protect up to 200,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado through wilderness and other conservation designations, specifically through the enactment of the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act and the campaign to protect the Hermosa Creek watershed outside of Durango.

Winter Wildlands Alliance (Boise, ID)  $25,000
Quiet Winter Recreation Campaign - To permanently protect Yellowstone National Park’s magical and fragile winter ecosystem  from the noise and exhaust of snowmobiles and, and to secure balanced winter use plans for Mount Jefferson, Togwotee Pass and Tumalo Mountain.

]]> http://www.prana.com/blog/2010/04/03/the-conservation-alliance-grants-400000-to-15-causes-to-protect-wild-places/feed/ 0 http://www.prana.com/blog/2010/01/29/hockey-prana-style/ http://www.prana.com/blog/2010/01/29/hockey-prana-style/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:00:28 +0000 andre@prana http://www.prana.com/blog/?p=4329 Continue reading →]]> The first annual Canada Goose Cup street hockey tournament supporting The Conservation Alliance was held last week in Salt Lake City at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. 10 teams took to the rink donating $300 each to the Alliance. The winning team would take home the Canada Goose Cup (think a smaller Stanley Cup) engraved with their teams name to display at their offices. The cup will be passed on to the following years winning team.

The action was fast and dangerous to both the players and the spectators hovering on the rinks walls. Kudos to all who played and to those who dodged the “Orange Ball of Death” that frequently sped passed their heads. Team prAna arrived with only 1 weeks practice on used hockey sticks but they would not be deterred. What the prAna team lacked in technique they made up with heart and hustle as they advanced all the way to the finals beating the hosts, Canada Goose, and Merrell in route to the finals against Arc’teryx.

The Conservation Allianceis an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas. Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $7.9 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 49 million acres of wildlands; 28 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 17,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas. For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see http://www.conservationalliance.com/.

Canada Goose proudly supports the Conservation Alliance, Polar Bears International (http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/) as well as a number of charitable organizations and outdoor ventures that provide even further commitment to Arctic stewardship and the environment. Canada Goose products have long been used by scientists, explorers and outdoor enthusiasts. For over 50 years the company has been committed to producing the best extreme weather outerwear in the world. From the South Pole research facilities and the Canadian High Arctic to the streets of New York City, Stockholm, Milan, Toronto and Tokyo, people wear Canada Goose products because of its reputation for authenticity, best quality, functionality and iconic style. Ask Anyone Who Knows(tm).

Special thanks to Rich Van Every for editing the video on such short notice. PrAna looks forward to seeing all of the participants next year to support such a worthy cause and a special thanks to Canada Goose for their organization of the tournament… and the Tequila… don’t ask

A pack of 10 wolves was caught on film traveling in Northeastern Oregon. Once extinct in the region, wolves were re-introduced to Central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in 1994. A few stragglers have ventured into Oregon since then, but this is the first time a full pack has been confirmed. It’s exciting to see wolves back in the Beaver State!

Conservation Alliance grantee Wilderness Support Center reports that Rep. John Salazar introduced legislation today that would protect 61,000 acres of Wilderness in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. The legislation would expand the existing Mt. Sneffels and Lizard Head Wilderness Areas, establish the McKenna Peak Wilderness in western San Miguel County, create the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area along the alpine ridge between San Miguel and San Juan Counties, and prohibit oil and gas development in Naturita Canyon near Norwood.

Click here for the full press release from Congressman Salazar.

Conservation Alliance grantee California Trout reports that a deal was reached last week to remove four dams on the Klamath River, and restore 300 miles of important salmon habitat. Cal Trout was a party to the negotiations, which would result in the largest dam removal in US history. The Klamath dams are widely blamed for a massive salmon die-off in 2002. If implemented, this agreement will lead to the dam owners — PacifiCorp — removing the four structures beginning in 2020.

Click here for the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle.

New Mexico Wilderness Bill Introduced

Cross Posted From The Conservation Alliance

Conservation Alliance grantee Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) announced final success yesterday in its campaign to expand the boundaries of Nahanni National Park Reserve in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced that the park’s boundaries would be expanded by 7 million acres, the size of Vancouver Island. The Conservation Alliance twice funded the Nahanni campaign, and are pleased to celebrate this success with CPAWS.

Click here for the full story from CPAWS