In 2002, two leaders in the paddling community, Pam Dillon (then Executive Director of the American Canoe Association) and Risa Shimoda (then Executive Director of American Whitewater) helped to found a coalition of recreation groups committed to working together to protect landscapes and outdoor experiences.
This conversation then led to a collaboration on joint priorities including the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Roadless Rule, and eventually to the formation of Outdoor Alliance — a coalition of ten activity-specific member organizations who support Outdoor Alliance’s work to advance strong recreation policy and to conserve and protect America’s public lands and waters. The American Canoe Association was one of the founding members of Outdoor Alliance and continues to work together in this coalition to conserve and protect the public waters that we love to paddle.
In the ten years since filing their Articles of Incorporation and becoming a 501c3, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. This work has permanently protected 40 million acres of public land, secured $5.1 billion in funding for the outdoors, and has converted more than 100,000 outdoor enthusiasts into outdoor advocates.
This fall, the American Canoe Association (ACA) joined Outdoor Alliance in Washington D.C. to celebrate 10-years of conservation powered by outdoor recreation, and to advocate for the next big legislative wins supporting public lands and waters. Representatives of the ACA joined nearly 80 advocates in over 80 meetings on Capitol Hill, where we asked lawmakers to pass the EXPLORE Act, a first-of-its kind bipartisan package of outdoor policy that bill will improve outdoor recreation experiences on America’s public lands and waters. It includes many key bills that Outdoor Alliance and partners have helped develop.
Pam Dillon (left) and Risa Shimoda (right) at the Paddlesport Trade Coalition Colab in Oklahoma City, OK this past September, 2024. Pam and Risa remain incredible influences in the paddling community and important leaders at the American Canoe Association. We are so grateful for their decades of commitment to making the world a better place to paddle and extremely fortunate to have been able to benefit from their incredible leadership.
Passing the EXPLORE Act
Outdoor Alliance and its partners have been working for years to develop and pass a package of recreation policy to improve outdoor recreation on public lands and waters. Now, the U.S. Senate and House each have introduced complementary packages of outdoor recreation policy: America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) in the Senate and the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act in the House.
Highlights from each package include the Biking on Long Distance Trails Act (BOLT) to identify and create more long-distance bike trails, the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act (PARC) to safeguard Wilderness climbing, the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act (SOAR) that will improve recreational permitting for outfitters and guides, and permanent direction for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership and FICOR. As a coalition, we are hopeful that a package of recreation policy will pass before year’s end.
Advocating for the outdoors in Washington D.C.
Meetings with lawmakers in D.C. are one of the most powerful advocacy tools we have in making sure that issues that are important to paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts, are priorities for each Congressional member. Politics can often seem hostile and unwelcoming, but we cannot emphasize enough how much of a misconception this is. Many members of Congress are outdoor enthusiasts themselves and are equally passionate about preserving America’s public lands and waters.
Senator Michael Bennet, for example, engaged in a productive conversation on how he could better support the interests of outdoor enthusiasts. During the meeting he also shared a story about his ascent of Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado and expressed his disappointment that professional climber, Tommy Caldwell, who was also in attendance, had seen more caribou during his recent trip to Alaska than he had. Human powered outdoor recreation offers an important opportunity for people to connect with the land and each other.
Outdoor Alliance’s Grasstops Collective
This year, Outdoor Alliance launched their Grasstops Collective, a leadership and advocacy development program that trains grasstops advocates to build relationships with policymakers and advocate for conservation priorities.
It is in this spirit that Outdoor Alliance brought together the first cohort of the Grasstops Collective. Composed of 20 outdoor enthusiasts from around the United States, this cohort has met virtually twice a month beginning in May before coming together in Washington D.C. for Outdoor Alliance’s 10-Year Anniversary fly-in.
This thoughtful and innovative program is demystifying how public policy impacts your ability to play outside and creating a powerful group of advocates to better represent paddlers, mountain bikers, climbers, hikers, surfers, and backcountry skiers. The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates the economic output of outdoor recreation to be $1.1 trillion, surpassing industries such as mining and farming and ranching in addition to contributing over 5 million jobs. As paddlers and users of public lands and waters, we are an incredibly important group with the power to elevate recreation in the national dialogue.
Outdoor Alliance has some fantastic resources for all outdoor enthusiasts who want to be outdoor advocates. We highly recommend reading Outdoor Alliance’s Advocacy 101: Going from Outdoor Enthusiast to Outdoor Advocate and taking the Mountaineers’ free Advocacy 101 eLearning Course.
The first cohort of the Outdoor Alliance’s Grass Tops Collective meet in-person for the first time to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Image by: Torch Pictures
10 Years of Conservation Powered by Outdoor Recreation
In the last decade, the outdoor community has activated a shift in the conservation movement, where the motivation to protect land, water, and climate grows out of our connection to place. The efforts of Outdoor Alliance have resulted in land managers recognizing that outdoor recreation is one of the primary ways Americans come to know their public lands and develop a stewardship ethic.
From Outdoor Alliance’s roots as a scrappy collective of whitewater paddlers, mountain bikers, hikers, climbers, and backcountry skiers, we have developed a powerful voice and presence in D.C. We’ve visited the White House; testified in front of Congress; had hundreds of meetings on the Hill; met with leadership at the Forest Service, Park Service, and BLM; and motivated many more outdoor enthusiasts to get in the advocacy game.
Our collective voices have made a true difference in protecting places, passing great policy, and expanding sustainable access to the outdoors over the last ten years. With so much at stake in the coming years, from climate change to growing demand for green space, we are just getting started.
Join us for the next ten years of conservation powered by outdoor recreation.