ONDA Receives Volunteer Award

We are proud to announce that Conservation Alliance Grantee, Oregon Natural Desert Association, has been named a regional winner in the Outstanding Volunteer Program category for the 2011 Governor's Volunteer Awards. This award recognizes ONDA's Wilderness Stewardship Program for their dedication, commitment and determination in promoting and supporting volunteerism throughout Oregon with the purpose of…

Bill Introduced to Expand San Juan Mountain Wilderness

  Photo: Jonathan Richter On September 27, Mark Udall announced that he has introduced a bill to preserve some of the state's most iconic public lands in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.  The San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act would designate 33,000 acres as wilderness – mostly as expansions of the existing Lizard Head…

On a divisive dam, a snippy bit of graffiti

Mel Melcon, Los Angeles Times / September 19, 2011 A picture says a thousand words.  In this case, tens of thousands of words.  "Tear the thing down already." This is a dam that should be removed.  Built in 1947, the 200-foot Matilija Dam, near Ojai, California, was flawed from the onset; depriving beaches 17 miles…

Backyard Collective travels to the East Coast

  More than 100 volunteers from Eastern Mountain Sports, Briggs & Riley Travelware, EarthTec, NEMO Equipment, Jetboil, and Polartec came out to support the East Coast Backyard Collective. This great group of volunteers partnered with several local environmental organizations and spread out through the Monadnock region of New Hampshire to work on a variety of…

World’s biggest dam removal begins this week

Year of the River: Episode 1 from Andy Maser on Vimeo. The biggest dam removal project in history begins this Saturday on Washington's Elwha River. American Rivers, the national leader in restoring rivers through dam removal, applauded the effort which will revitalize salmon runs and deliver significant cultural, economic, and recreation benefits to the Lower…

Speak out now to protect the Arctic Refuge

Right now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking YOUR input on a plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that, for the first time, could recommend Wilderness protection for the Coastal Plain – the Refuge's biological epicenter that has been in Big Oil's sights for decades. A Wilderness recommendation would protect this unparalleled…

2011 Boulder Backyard Collective Round-Up

Conservation Alliance Member Company, Osprey Packs, led the charge for the Boulder Backyard Collective!  Here is an excerpt from the Osprey blog……………. It's always a fantastic feeling to donate a little sweat equity to give back to the places we play in and the 2011 Backyard Collective was no exception.  Backyard Collective's were started back…