Conservation Blog

When you hear the word “infrastructure,” you might first think of urban roads, bridges, and other types of transportation frameworks. But the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - which President Biden signed into law on November 15 - covers much more than that. Congress seized a historic opportunity to prioritize and deliver climate action, while providing a long-overdue boost to many facets of our nation’s aging infrastructure. Read more…

Seth Kantner is a commercial fisherman, writer, and wildlife photographer. His newest book, A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou (Mountaineers Books; September 2021), is a stunning firsthand account of a life spent hunting, studying, and living alongside caribou. He lives in the Northwest Arctic. Read more…

Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books, tells visual stories that inspire a wide audience to protect our communities, lands, and wildlife. By taking book projects and turning them into events, regional and national media coverage, and museum exhibits, they create a diverse toolset to raise awareness for conservation causes and threats to wild places. Given the interconnected threats of the climate and biodiversity crises, Braided River’s work of inspiring action on conservation issues near and far is more important than ever. Read more…

I had a light bulb moment this summer when I got back from a backpacking trip. Read more…

It’s the kind of day you never forget. During a routine spring skiing adventure, Bryan Papé found himself lying in the snow with skis strewn down the mountainside. He'd sustained a fractured femur and only a tree was keeping him from collapsing. Read more…

Thanks to support from outdoor enthusiasts like you, we’re able to successfully advocate for public lands protections and outdoor access. It starts with building relationships with lawmakers, management agencies, and their staff at the federal and local level in order to influence legislation and advocate for critical funding to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities and protect our beloved Pacific Northwest landscapes. Read more…

For six years, The Mountaineers has been a proud member of Outdoor Alliance, a national coalition of human-powered outdoor recreation organizations working to conserve America’s public lands. We joined Outdoor Alliance because we know that the voices of climbers, paddlers, hikers, mountain bikers, and backcountry skiers are much more powerful when we speak together. Our collective voice increases our community’s leverage with federal and state decision makers on public lands and recreation. Read more…

On Friday, President Biden restored protections to three national monuments, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in southeast Utah. These spectacular landscapes are sacred to Indigenous peoples and contain world-class recreational opportunities. The President used his authority under the Antiquities Act - a bedrock conservation law - to permanently protect these lands as national monuments. Read more…

The Pacific Northwest is home to many unique and beautiful animals, but there is one strange, slimy creature that is often overlooked: The Pacific banana slug. Oft-forgotten until they’re underfoot, banana slugs are critically important members of the forest community from southeast Alaska to central California, and they play a big role in our ecosystems each autumn. Read more…

Leaves are changing, temperatures are dropping, and the air is feeling crisp. No matter how you decide to enjoy autumn, there’s one thing we can all agree on: We’re lucky to live in a place where fall is this awesome. Read more…

On Wednesday, REI Co-op leadership partnered with The Mountaineers to celebrate the 25th anniversary of REI's Seattle Flagship store and support conservation and advocacy efforts led by The Mountaineers. Attendees gathered on the outdoor terrace to enjoy handmade tamales from Frelard Tamales, freshly baked cookies from Bell’s Cookie Co., and local beer and wine from Georgetown Brewery and Tinte Cellars. After nearly two years of virtual-only connections, it felt great to finally gather in-person in support of our wild places. Thank you to those who came out and joined the celebrations! Read more…

I first set foot on Mount Baker’s Coleman Glacier in August of 1972, accompanied by my friend Mary Bramble. Mary and I met two years before climbing Glacier Peak with the Mazamas, and had done some hiking and climbing since. ‘72 was also the year I had begun climbing outside the club (to the anxiety of my parents), with friends who possessed the same desire to lead climb on more difficult peaks. Read more…

Lately you’ve heard from us about historic opportunities to tackle climate change and invest in public lands through upcoming infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills. Now it’s crunch time: Congress is on the precipice of passing once-in-a-generation legislation to protect climate and public lands. How big Congress decides to go is still very much in the air, so this is a critical time to share your priorities with your senators and representatives. Read more…

If you’re a bit like me, then maybe every day could be public lands day. The Pacific Northwest is fortunate to have many parks, trails, waterways, and green spaces that provide positive benefits across communities. There truly is something for everyone, in every season. Here at The Mountaineers, we strive to raise awareness around the importance of natural landscapes conserved as public lands - not just for recreation, but for the health and cultural identity of our region. Join us to celebrate National Public Lands Day this September 25th. Read more…

In June, the Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee launched an ambitious $31,000 fundraising campaign in support of the Tacoma Program Center’s three-phase Net-Zero Energy Project. All funds raised would be used to implement Phase 2, replacing gas-powered furnaces and appliances with energy-efficient electric versions to greatly reduce the building’s reliance on fossil fuels. When all three phases of the plan are completed, the Tacoma Program Center will be a Net-Zero Energy Building, and Tacomans can feel proud knowing that this community resource is helping to ensure better environmental outcomes for our lands and waters. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to.... Read more…

Five years ago, I made my first donation to The Mountaineers. At the time, I was seeking organizations that elevated our region's quality of life and were committed to improving our collective environmental impact. Initially drawn in through the conservation and advocacy program, I was inspired to join the members and donors who give back to fully fund the department. Charitable giving supports 75% of The Mountaineers Conservation and Advocacy program, and the remainder is funded through membership renewals. Read more…

Are you a Tacoma Mountaineer interested in supporting renewable energy in our region, or eco-friendly renovations for the Tacoma Program Center?  Read more…

We say it all the time: funding public lands is a core part of protecting the places we love. Years of underfunding and budget cuts have left agencies without the staff or resources they need to steward our public lands and waters. Without adequate funding, trails don’t get maintained, facilities like restrooms and campgrounds are closed, and the natural environment is degraded. Fortunately, there are several opportunities right now to take action to support public lands funding.  Read more…

On September 19, 1996, REI opened the doors to its first flagship store in downtown Seattle to serve as a hub for its co-op members. Twenty-five years later, you’ll still find the store bustling with outdoor enthusiasts searching for top quality gear, seeking expert advice, and receiving service from a pro technician. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the REI Seattle flagship store is inviting you to eat, drink, and socialize to support conservation work at The Mountaineers. Read more…

Mount Rainier is a favorite destination for Mountaineers members for activities like wildflower hikes, snow skills practice at Paradise, or a Basic alpine climb in the Tatoosh Range. But park entrances and roads can get quite congested, especially on sunny summer weekends. Hours-long waits at the Nisqually entrance near Ashford are common, and finding parking can be the crux of the trip.  Read more…

Over the past few years, we’ve asked you to take action against a proposal to exempt the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule is an important conservation tool that protects many of our most valued backcountry landscapes, including many in Washington, from logging, road building, and other development. The previous administration removed protections from the Tongass rainforest to open it up to development, despite overwhelming opposition. Read more…

As the Pacific Northwest faces an early and intense wildfire season, an unprecedented heat wave, and severe drought, we’ve been thinking a lot about how The Mountaineers can help advance climate solutions. The climate crisis is an urgent threat to our communities and the Pacific Northwest landscapes we love. Our community experiences the effects of climate change on our outdoor adventures, as wildfires cancel hikes and glacier travel becomes more perilous. It also impacts our health and communities, especially our most vulnerable. Read more…

Few have directly witnessed the insidious change that our warming climate has wrought on the Pacific Northwest. Those who have seen the impacts are often outdoorspeople who have been intimately connected with the land for decades, watching as it slowly morphs under the pressure of a changing climate. Pat O’Brien is one of those people. Read more…

Olympia Mountaineers have been busy this year! We're back in full force now that COVID-19 restrictions have loosened, and our hard work has already made a big impact. Read about two recent projects branch members undertook, and get inspired for your own stewardship day this season. Read more…

Do you hike, climb, bike, hunt, picnic, or otherwise spend time outdoors in Washington? We need your help! Our partners are working to help the US Forest Service improve their data collection related to visitor use in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Information about outdoor recreation is critical for maintaining and advocating for recreational opportunities on public lands. Read more…

The Mountaineers made a commitment to reduce our organization’s carbon footprint as part of Vision 2022. Since 2018, we have made significant progress in reducing the carbon footprint of Mountaineers buildings, including installing a solar panel system at our Seattle Program Center and replacing over 500 lightbulbs in four buildings with LED retrofits. Now, The Mountaineers Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee is excited to announce the Tacoma Program Center Net-Zero Energy Project.  Read more…

We were incredibly honored to bring The Mountaineers mission and priorities to a national stage last week. Conservation and Advocacy Director Betsy Robblee was invited to testify before a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on increasing access to the outdoors by improving the federal recreational permitting process. We’ve been working for years on legislation to improve the current inefficient, unpredictable recreational permitting system, and were grateful for the opportunity to share our ideas with Congress.  Read more…

Braided River author Lynda V. Mapes has traveled across the West Coast to give voice to the region’s orca whales, iconic to the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful—but ecologically imperiled—marine ecosystem. In this excerpt, she travels to OrcaLab in British Columbia, where passionate and determined volunteers are led by founder Paul Spong. Located on Cracroft Point, above Johnstone Strait in British Columbia, they have been documenting the daily lives of the more robust northern resident orca pods since 1970. Read more…

This winter, we shared our funding priorities for outdoor programs in Washington’s state budget. Hundreds of you took action to share those priorities with your state legislators - thank you! We’re excited to report that outdoor recreation and conservation received strong support from the Legislature this session.  Read more…