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Building the tool box
This year is the tenth annual Patagonia Tools for Grassroots Activists Conference. At the event, Patagonia brings together dozens of conservation and environmental activists from across the country to give them the tools they need to save the planet.
Fallen Leaf Lake from above the Stanford Sierra Camp.
I'm sitting by a fireplace in the lodge at the Stanford Sierra Camp on Fallen Leaf Lake right next to Lake Tahoe. Suffice it to say that it's a pretty nice place to get together to talk about saving our last wild places.
Along with donating lots of schwag for non-profit fundraising events, Patagonia gives away gobs of money to worthy conservation groups. Oregon Wild is lucky to be a recipient of the Patagucci beneficence and this week they are also putting me up in this fine establishment.
Among my fellow travelers are folks from the Oregon Natural Desert Association who work to protect all the magnificent desert wildlands east of the Cascades (including the Badlands and Spring Basin). Also out here are the Executive Director and new staff member for the Conservation Alliance, another group that generously grants money to Oregon Wild. The Conservation Alliance collects dues from outdoor industry companies and channels them back into non-profit conservation work. They also produced the Keen Hybrid.Pedal film that featured our very own Erik Fernandez. I've also run in to folks from our legal defenders at the Western Environmental Law Center.
One of the most exciting figures I have run into so far is Brock Evans. Brock is currently the president of the Endangered Species Coalition (of which Oregon Wild is a member). He also worked for the Sierra Club for many years as the point man on establishing the North Cascades National Park. I'm hoping to pick his brain later about old growth/ancient forests issues to get some tips on moving forward with our campaign.
More updates to come.
