The Fifth Winter Wildlands Alliance Grassroots Advocacy Conference will be a great opportunity for individuals and grassroots groups involved in human-powered winter recreation to gather to hear the latest on policy issues, network, share successes and meet with land managers. 

Grassroots Advocacy Conference Agenda

Friday, March 8th __________________________________________________________________

Noon – 1 PM        Registration - Salt Lake City Downtown Library - 4th Floor

1:15                        Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Mark Menlove, Executive Director – Winter Wildlands Alliance

1:30                        Public Involvement in Recreation and Resource Management

Professor Michele Straube, U of Utah Law Clinic - Collaboration 101

Liz Close, Director of Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness Resources, USFS Intermountain Region - Effectively Engaging as a Recreation Advocate

2:30                        Taking the Long View – a Decade of Advocacy on Yellowstone Winter Use

Jon Catton – Conservationist

3:15                        BREAK                 

3:45                        Reports from the Field

 Chad Grossenburg, Wilderness Manager, Caribou-Targhee National Forest – Winter Wilderness Stewardship Project

 Jay Pistono, Friends of Pathways - Teton Pass Ambassador Program

4:30                       Stop SkiLink Now: Creating an Effective Grassroots Campaign

 Stop SkiLink Now organizing team

5:30                       Adjourn Day 1

6:30 – 9:00 PM    Opening Reception & Keynote

Andrew McLean - Ski Mountaineer and Author - On Becoming a ‘Reluctant Activist’

 Squatters Pub - 147 W Broadway, SLC, UT 84101 - food and drink included

Saturday, March 9th _____________________________________________________________

9:00 AM               Coffee & Snacks - Salt Lake City Downtown Library - 4th Floor

9:15                     Opening Comments

 Winter Wildlands Alliance staff – Updates on our ongoing program work: National OSV regulations, SnowSchool, policy initiatives

9:30                      Fundraising for your Grassroots Work

 Adam Chamberlain, VP of Marketing, Black Diamond – corporate partner perspective

 Shelley Pursell, WWA - WWA's Backcountry Film Festival as a fundraising tool

10:15                    BREAK

10:30                    Collaboration Under the New Forest Service Planning Rule

  Adam Cramer, Policy Architect, Outdoor Alliance

  USFS land manager TBD

11:15                    Winter Recreation Management & Ski Areas

 John Sale, Director of Planning and Sustainability at Crested Butte Mountain Resort – uphill travel policy, public involvement and incorporating backcountry skiing in their master plan

 Loren Kroenke, National Winter Sports Program Manager, USFS – trends in ski area use relevant to human-powered recreation: uphill travel, backcountry access and ski area expansion

12:15                   LUNCH (on site, included with registration)

1:15                     Economic Trends and Data as an Advocacy Tool

David Weinstein, Outreach and Advocacy Manager, Outdoor Industry Association - The Outdoor Recreation Economy

Mark Newcomb, consultant for WWA - Teton Region backcountry skiing economic study, 2012-2013

2:00                    Engaging your Grassroots membership

        Shan Sethna, Friends of Berthoud Pass, Colorado

        Gus Bekker, El Sendero, Washington

2:45                   BREAK

3:00                   Outdoor Alliance: Uniting the Human-Powered Outdoor Recreation Community

       Tom Flynn, Grasstops Fellow & Adam Cramer, Outdoor Alliance (OA) – OA Grasstops initiative

3:45                   Small Group Discussion:       

What emerging trends or issues are you facing? What solutions and management direction do we have to address these?

Dialog with land managers: How can local advocates be an asset to you? How do we ensure our perspectives are recognized?

What tools or resources are needed to advance the management of human-powered snowsports?

4:30                   Roundtable:  What’s next for winter recreation on public lands?

            Discussion moderated by Mark Menlove

5:00                  Adjourn

Sunday, March 10^{th _________________________________________________________________________}

8:00 - 1:00 PM  Half day backcountry ski outing in Big Cottonwood Canyon. 

Meet at the Big Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride, North East corner of Big Cottonwood Canyon Road & Wasatch Boulevard (immediately on the left as you start up the canyon).

From here, we will head up to a trailhead to be announced at the conference, based on conditions. We may split into several smaller groups to accomodate people's goals and timetable for the day.

 

 

To discuss the conference, registration or any of our policy initiatives, please contact WWA's Policy Director, Cailin O'Brien-Feeney at 208-336-4203, x4