National Parks

Adventure Activism, Capitol Christmas Tree, National Forests, National Parks, On Assignment, Social Media, Special Events / 26.10.2015

I never thought it would come to this. After years of railing on and on about the early arrival of the holiday season I suddenly find myself utterly and completely complicit in its delivery! Even though we have yet to celebrate Halloween today I am excited for the prospects of seeking out an evergreen for decorating. But this is no ordinary spruce. The Christmas tree I aim to acquire will stand on the grounds of U.S. Capitol Building as a symbol of peace for the American People. As an...

Adventure Activism, An American Ascent, Book Tour, Charitable Giving, Diversity, Kids in Nature, National Parks, Special Events, The Adventure Gap / 21.10.2015

For some reason I couldn’t get the song to play. After having spent hours getting the introduction just right I’d be damned if I was going to let the opening frames of this film presentation go without music. Trying not to panic I simply reconfigured the audio file from .AIFF to .MP3 and it played flawlessly. Jake Shimabukuro’s tune Dragon flowed in perfect sync with the animated text and the logos of the Madison-based nonprofit groups this screening of An American Ascent aimed to support. With a free...

Commentary, Destinations, Diversity, Fly Fishing, Kids in Nature, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Social Media / 02.09.2015

As summer draws to a close across North America I have noticed something most profound. After more than 20 years as a professional in the outdoor recreation industry I’ve begun to see more people of color than ever before venturing out into the natural world. This is of course an anecdotal observation base not in fact. But the depth and volume of stories and photographs posted to social media reveals to me that things have indeed changed. I am both encouraged and inspired by the bold exciting ways...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, Film preview, National Parks, Yosemite / 27.07.2015

The National Parks are for everyone. A new short film illustrates the efforts underway to invite and welcome more people to enjoy their parks than ever before. Our outdoor public spaces, which include historic sites, memorials and monuments, are indeed open and accessible to anyone willing and able to venture out into the wide world, but there are significant segments of the population that simply don’t. Like many aspects of modern society in the United States of America these divisions of use within our public lands fall steadily...

Adventure Activism, Diversity, Film Review, National Parks / 03.07.2015

  Even with its Kickstarter campaign still in progress the Rewilding Film Project is already underway. Produced  by social entrepreneur Jesse Spiegel and his partner Vitek Linhart the documentary film project which aims to follow the adventure inspired travels of formerly incarcerated New York City native Anthony DeJesus launched its pilot episode this week on Vimeo. “We’ve been working on the development of the Rewilding program for well over a year now,” Spiegel said. “This first documentary series aims to draw the attention and support needed to grow our program’s...

Diversity, High Country News, Magazines, National Parks, Yosemite / 27.05.2015

Several miles past the west entrance of Yosemite National Park, a wooden sign marks the location of an historic meeting. On May 17, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt sat by a campfire with naturalist John Muir to discuss the preservation of America’s wild lands. Along the banks of the Merced River, near the steep granite cliffs of Half Dome and El Capitan, they talked about the creation of what would become the National Park System. One hundred and twelve years later to the day, an eclectic group of conservation professionals gathered...