Outdoor Lover to Outdoor Advocate: Your Guide to Begin Getting Involved in Conservation

If you’re like me, the more time you spend exploring outside, the more compelled you feel to protect and uphold our shared access to public land, particularly when it comes under threat from legislation aiming to appease the interests of big industry. 

The outdoor recreationist to outdoor advocate pipeline isn’t just a product of our current political climate. Passionate people rallying together in support of public land has been an American tradition for over a century. While we can only make so much impact as individuals, our collective activism is what writes policy and creates lasting protection for the wild places we care the most about.

Not sure where to start?

Here’s 5 simple steps to kickstart your personal path to outdoor advocacy.

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1. The first step to becoming an effective outdoor advocate is to educate yourself on the challenges our wild places are facing and the possible solutions available. Seek out information from a variety of sources- hearing perspectives from multiple organizations & involved individuals from different backgrounds will allow you to form your own ideas of how we can tackle threats to public land (something we all need to prioritize in our current era where information is summarized for us by artificial intelligence!!)

2. Support conservation organizations or campaigns that you have a personal connection to. That may mean a “Friends of” group for a national park that you enjoyed visiting or an alliance group for a specific outdoor sport you participate in. Getting involved with others who share your particular outdoor passions will make you feel more motivated to extend your advocacy. 

3. Research conservation issues in your area or in places that you are planning to visit. Show up for community events, get involved in trail work or cleanup days, and invite people to join you. Starting local will allow you to feel a sense of personal involvement in protecting the outdoor spaces that you spend the most time in and will introduce you to other community members who are also interested in outdoor advocacy.  

4. Your senators and representatives are the people who have the most power to impact policy regarding federal public land use and access. While contacting them may sound like a daunting task if you’ve never tried it before, there’s a variety of resources out there that make it quick and easy.

   
   

Making your opinion know doesn't have to be difficult!

Go to 5 Calls https://5calls.org/ to get your representatives' contact information.

Checkout organizations such as the National Parks Conservation Association https://www.npca.org/, Outdoor Alliance https://www.outdooralliance.org/, the Conservation Lands Foundation https://www.conservationlands.org/?nosplash=true, and the Wilderness Society https://www.wilderness.org/ to add your name to pre-written letters and petitions.

5. Sharing why you care about protecting public land with friends in person & people online is how you can extend your advocacy and promote conservation. The more people talking about these issues, the better! While reposting information from organizations is certainly helpful, providing personal accounts of your experience in the outdoors is more meaningful. Whether you’re sharing resources with your hiking buddy, running group, or social media followers when you post photos from your trip to a national park, change happens when we give people information and inspire them to support a cause.

Feeling inspired to get started? Contact me with questions, comments, or resources to share at rideroutsideinfo@gmail.com and, as always, happy trails!