This is a great example of Conservation Alliance member companies working together with our Grantees. Save our Wild Salmon's Communications Manager Emily Nuchols appeared as a guest blogger on Cloudveil's Blog site. Check it out and see a picture of Buster moving on the dance floor!
http://www.themountainculture.com/2009/07/31/giving-lonesome-larry-a-river/.
The Conservation Alliance celebrated our 20th Anniversary in style at the Outdoor Retailer trade show last week in Salt Lake City. Thanks to contributions from 21 member companies, we were able to pull together a fun evening event that featured live music from the Outdoor Industry All-Star Band and Pictures And Sound. Participants included Alliance leaders going back to the founding in 1989, representatives from our grantee organizations, and many, many new faces.
Check out photos from the event here.
Thanks for a real good time!
Conservation Alliance grantee WaterWatch played a key role in securing a $5 million stimulus program grant to remove Gold Ray Dam, a defunct hydropower dam on the main stem of Oregon's Rogue River. With the removal of Savage Rapids Dam this year, Gold Ray Dam remains the last barrier to fish passage and recreation on the lower 153 miles of the river.
Click here for more information.
Conservation Alliance grantee Montana Wilderness Association reports that Senator John Tester introduced legislation on Friday that will protect nearly 700,000 acres of public land in Montana. The proposal would protect special wild areas in three parts of the state, and comes as the result of a stakeholder process that included conservation groups and the timber industry.
On Friday, July 10 employees from six Portland area Conservation Alliance member companies joined together for a day of trail restoration in Portland's Forest Park. The work of nearly 50 volunteers from KEEN, REI, Columbia, Lizard Lounge, Horny Toad, Nau created significant results for the Forest Park Conservancy, our host organization. In addition to these participating companies, this event was supported by Teva, Patagonia and Stanley.
* 3 damaged trail signs replaced
* 1.15 miles of routine trail maintenance performed (brushing out, regraded and drainages cleaned)
* 2 turnpikes recrowned
* .35 miles of of old trail opened and reconstructed
* Stepping stones placed and anchored for stream crossing
* 150 native trees cleared of invasives
In addition to this hearty trail work, volunteers enjoyed lunch catered by Elephant's Deli and an after party at the Lizard Lounge featuring Micah Wolf and his kids performing live. Conservation Alliance grantees Save Our Wild Salmon, Oregon Wild, Oregon Natural Desert Association and WaterWatch also joined in the work party and provided information to all volunteers about the work that is happening all over Oregon to protect our special, wild places.
For more photos from the day, click here to view on Picasa.
This was the final event in a series of four Northwest Backyard Collectives. Our next Backyard Collective is scheduled for August 21 in Boulder, Colorado.
WHO : The public is invited to attend the FREE Zion National Park Centennial Celebration, an event sponsored by Chevron and featuring a live concert by Utah's own Red Rock Rondo and sneak preview of Ken Burns' new film, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea."
WHAT: Zion National Park Centennial Celebration is sponsored by Chevron and hosted by Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Zion National Park Superintendent Jock Whitworth, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Outdoor Industry Association, Utah's PBS station, KUED-TV. Other sponsors include Rico Mexican Delicatessen, Osprey, Squatters, Patagonia, WRSI, and Ian Shive Photography.
WHEN : Tuesday, July 21, 7:30 pm - 11:00 pm
WHERE : Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
At 100 years old, Zion National Park is the crown in the jewel of Utah's extraordinary collection of world class parks. As the state's most-visited park (more than 2.5 million visitors each year from all corners of the globe), Zion has exhilarated generations of visitors with its majestic canyons, extraordinary vistas, desert springs and roiling rivers, diversity of wildlife, and (most of the time) its solitude.
The highlight of the Zion National Park Centennial Celebration will be a concert by Utah's own Red Rock Rondo. Springdale, Utah, mayor-turned-composer Phillip Bimstein has created a cycle of songs celebrating the history and contemporary life of Zion National Park and its neighboring communities.
Recently, Red Rock Rondo, in conjunction with KUED-TV, produced a video that traces some of the special places and people who inspired this music and significantly define the park. After the live concert, KUED will share some special scenes from the video in the open air amphitheater. Additionally, the public will be treated to a sneak peek of film-maker Ken Burns' inspiring new documentary airing on PBS in September, called "The National Parks: America's Best Idea."
NPCA and KUED are asking people to share their favorite story and photograph as well as their hopes and dreams for Zion's future at www.kued.org/nationalparks. Those who participate will be entered in a raffle drawing to win prizes from Osprey, Patagonia, WRSI, and Ian Shive Photography.
Visitors to the Zion National Park Centennial Celebration will enjoy local microbrews from Squatter's Pub and Local First Utah food purveyor Rico Mexican Delicatessen at this special summer event.
photo: Justin Bastien
Conservation Alliance Program Associate Krissy Moehl placed 2nd among women and 13th overall in the Western States 100 Endurance Race in California last weekend. She's pictured here with her mom just after crossing the finish line with a time of 19 hours, 26 minutes, 2 seconds. For those of you not in the loop, yes, people do run 100-mile races, and people like Krissy do it really fast. Fortunately for us, Krissy brings the same commitment to the Alliance that she does to her running.
Congratulations Krissy!
Conservation Alliance grantee Central Oregon LandWatch has succeeded in its campaign to secure a protective designation for the 500,000-acre Metolius River Basin in Central Oregon. The new protections halts two proposed destination resort developments, and ensures a permanent ban on such developments in the future. LandWatch won these protections when the Oregon legislature passed a bill declaring the Metolius Basin an "Area of Critical Statewide Concern." The Metolius is legendary for its fly fishing, and for its headwaters, which literally spring from the ground at the base of Black Butte.
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A group of Conservation Alliance board and staff members visited the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge last week, exploring a spectacular Wilderness that is threatened by proposed oil and gas development. The group -- including board members Adam Forest, Sally McCoy, and Steve Barker, and staffer John Sterling -- floated the Canning River from the Brooks Range north to the Arctic coastal plain. The trip was organized by Zumiez founder Tom Campion, a champion of Arctic protection. The group encountered grizzlies, wolves, musk oxen, thousands of caribou, and a range of birds.
