If there’s anything to be gleaned from the “Occupy” movement sprouting placards across the nation—other than free speech does not extend to pitching tent camps in Bloomberg’s backyard—it’s that collective noise is hard to ignore.
That same theory is now being applied by groups that work for the greater good of wildlife, organizations that in the past have maintained safe distances from one another despite similar overall objectives in the conservation arena.
Approximately 1,000 groups and businesses have formed under The America’s Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Preservation coalition umbrella. The mega-group, which made its debut at a Washington, D.C., news conference last month, includes the TRCP, The Wilderness Society, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Boone and Crockett Club, Trout Unlimited, and Sierra Club, in addition to companies such as Black Diamond and Petzl.
Strength in numbers? The new coalition is banking on it.
From Salt Lake Tribune Outdoor Columnist Brett Prettyman:
“The coalition threw out some big numbers released in ‘The Economics Associated with Outdoor Recreation, Natural Resources Conservation and Historic Preservation in the United States.’ The report was produced by Southwick Associates for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
“The study showed that the combined value of outdoor recreation, natural resource conservation and historic preservation accounts for 9.4 million jobs in the United States; $1.06 trillion in economic impact and $107 billion in tax revenue.”
Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.