Geoff Lawrence
With the recent release of our annual impact report, we're celebrating all that donors and volunteers made possible through The Mountaineers in 2023.
I feel fortunate to live in one of the most wild, beautiful, and varied natural areas in the world, and The Mountaineers has provided me with the skills and community to interact with it in an intimate way. Many of the areas I most enjoy are available to me in no small part through the advocacy efforts of generations of Mountaineers.
It became apparent, over the years, that the natural places we love are changing. We see shrinking glaciers, the increased severity of wildfires, and other realities of a warming planet. In 2017, a group of concerned Mountaineers proposed a group to address human-driven climate change and consider what our community might do about it.
The work of the Carbon Footprint Reduction (CFR) Committee was eagerly embraced by our community and we adopted an organization-wide vision to achieve net zero carbon emissions from direct organizational impacts. Our community has contributed significantly and generously in support of our net zero vision.
Our initial focus was The Mountaineers program centers and lodges that serve as teaching and gathering spaces. We replaced lighting with energy-efficient LEDs, installed a solar panel system at the Seattle Program Center, and replaced gas-fired furnaces with electric heat pumps for heating and cooling at Meany and Stevens Lodges. In 2023 we made tremendous progress at the Tacoma Program Center, replacing gas-fired furnaces with electric heat pumps and recently completing the installation of a solar panel system. As of early 2024, we achieved net zero carbon emissions for the Tacoma Program Center!
Our net zero vision is much broader than the organization’s built environment and aims to educate and inspire across our community. Books and programs educate members and readers about how to reduce their carbon footprint, and promote pathways to advocate on behalf of climate resilience. Advocacy on behalf of the natural world remains at the heart of The Mountaineers ethos, and continues to inspire me as a member, volunteer, and donor.
Photos clockwise from top left: Kara Hollenbeck, Eddie Kruger, Mountaineers staff, Luke Hollister, Sylvester Jakubowski, Nate Derrick, and Ronald Jones.
2023 IMPACT: ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF THE NATURAL WORLD
- Washington State Invests in Public Lands. Mountaineers advocates helped to secure additional investments in our state’s public lands. New funding will help land managers and nonprofit partners effectively manage growing visitation, improve and restore recreational access and infrastructure, connect youth to the outdoors, protect and conserve natural and cultural resources, and more.
- Mountaineers Conservation Director Appointed to
Northwest Forest Plan Advisory Committee. Conservation & Advocacy Director, Betsy Robblee, was appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to serve on
a new Federal Advisory Committee, working on revisions to the Northwest Forest Plan. We are proud that Betsy was selected to represent the outdoor recreation community and
The Mountaineers on this critically important effort. - Mountaineers Give Back Through Stewardship. Mountaineers love a good challenge, especially when it involves giving back to public lands. Our members stepped up to care for our lands and waters when the Olympia Branch extended their yearly stewardship challenge to the entire organization, showcasing our community’s commitment to investing in and caring for the public lands that make our favorite recreation experiences possible.
- The Mountaineers and Outdoor Alliance WA visit D.C. The Mountaineers and our partners at Outdoor Alliance Washington visited D.C. to advocate for the passage of the Wild Olympics bill and the SOAR Act, as well as to discuss the need to invest in staff capacity for the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. Advocating with the strength of more than 16,000 Mountaineers allows us to make a compelling case for public lands and outdoor recreation.
- Mountaineers Advocate for Sustainable and Equitable Access at Mt. Rainier. Our conservation team and members of The Mountaineers community provided input on Mt. Rainier’s proposed visitor use management plan in the hopes of retaining accessibility to this iconic recreation area. We are continuing to leverage our collective voices to ensure our favorite natural places remain accessible sources of joy, adventure, and inspiration.
2023 Titles Illuminate Key Environmental Issues in North America
Mountaineers Books published two new Braided River titles in 2023: Living River by Dave Showalter and Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain by Tim McNulty. These books use the power of images and storytelling to illuminate key environmental issues—here, the renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact and the campaign for the Wild Olympics Wilderness—and then building ongoing impact campaigns based on those publications. We also published two conservation-focused natural histories: Return of the Bison by Roger Di Silvestro,
about the restoration of bison in the American West, and The Wanderer by Tom Walker, which uses the GPS tracks of a single wolf in Alaska to explore the natural history of wolves and their relationship to humans.
The Mountaineers® is a 501(c)(3) organization supported through earned revenue and elevated through charitable contributions. Our staff work to support our seven branches (Bellingham, Everett, Foothills, Kitsap, Olympia, Seattle, and Tacoma), three lodges (Baker, Meany, and Stevens), and our Kitsap Forest Theater. Tax ID: 27-3009280. 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.
