Hike the Hill
This week was the annual gathering of the national scenic and historic trail community in DC to educate Congress, meet with agencies, and build support for trails. NWSA was there along with Back Country Horsemen and other Wilderness groups to lend our voice and to expand opportunities for wilderness stewardship.
We are happy to report that the Forest Service Chief took this opportunity to express her full support for Shared Stewardship and to renew the NFS Trail Stewardship Partner funding for $200,000 in 2020. Find more details here.
This is in addition to the $200,000 already secured for Wilderness Stewardship Performance activities.
Applications for both programs are due by March 30th.
Webinars
Tuesday, March 10 at 1:00 PM Mountain
Leave No Trace — Refresher, Updates, Resources
Erin Collier, Brice Esplin, and Faith Overall
What’s new with Leave No Trace, and how can you incorporate the principles into your daily work? Erin Collier & Brice Esplin, Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, will provide a general Leave No Trace refresher with an emphasis on updates, research, and resources, geared toward wilderness stewardship groups and agency partners. Faith Overall, Leave No Trace’s Education and Outreach coordinator and volunteer for the Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance will also join to provide a volunteer perspective and answer questions on getting more involved.
Wilderness Workshop Presentations and Videos
Many presentations at the Workshop are posted on the WORKSHOP PAGE . You can also find the Program and Abstracts. Several of the main sessions were video taped and as soon as they are available will be placed on this page as well. The Final Plenary session and Derick Lugo’s Closing Presentation are now available online.
The 2020 Funding Program Application Periods are Open
As noted above NWSA has two funding programs for wilderness stewards.
The Wilderness Stewardship Performance Partner Funding and
The National Forest System Trail Stewardship Partner Funding.
Both application periods will end March 30, 2020.
Now is the time to renew your memberships for 2020. WSP Funding requires a NWSA membership in order to apply.
In other Member News: Memberships will now track calendar years. Memberships renewals for 2020 began October 1st and are good for the entire calendar year 2020. Participate in Funding programs, get discounts to the National Wilderness Workshop and keep informed about national issues affecting wilderness stewardship.
Forest Service WSP Webinars now Posted
The latest WSP webinars are posted on Wilderness Connect. The webinars include the Plants element and Recreation Sites element.
These webinars can be found at the link below, along with the nine other WSP elements already posted and of course the other outstanding past and planned webinars by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, and other great partners.
https://wilderness.net/practitioners/training/free-webinars/default.php