Protecting Our Digital Realm: Actions Taken by AMC and Ways You Can Lend a Hand

Protecting Our Digital Realm: Actions Taken by AMC and Ways You Can Lend a Hand

Let's Chat About the Looming Threat to Our Treasured Outdoors

You've probably heard the disturbing news: budgetary freezes and cuts to federal funding. Projects halted, jobs lost, and environmental regulations rolled back. These actions jeopardize our beloved public lands, scientific research, outdoor recreation, and the long-term health of the environment, particularly in our region.

For nearly 150 years, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has been a driving force in preserving the outdoors. Our efforts have led to the establishment of National Forests in the eastern United States, the building and maintenance of adored trails, the securing of federal funding for land protection, and informing the Clean Air and Water Acts. We keep hikers safe in the backcountry and foster connections between people and the outdoors from Maine to Virginia.

Our work depends on robust federal partnerships. However, without this funding, our mission becomes a formidable challenge. To keep our work thriving, we invite you to:

1. Join AMC as a Member: Your support strengthens our advocacy and directly contributes to our efforts in protecting the outdoors.
2. Sign up for our Conservation Action Network (CAN): Stay informed about critical issues and help influence how your representatives vote.
3. Volunteer with AMC: Make a difference in the maintenance and repair of public trails, lead trips, share your skills, and speak up for conservation.
4. Donate to AMC: Your contributions are the backbone of our work.

What's on the Line?

• Trails falling into disrepair: A multiyear project to restore the Franconia Ridge Trail Loop in the White Mountain National Forest, authorized in 2021, could stall due to frozen funding, and many trails would suffer neglect.
• Threats to land conservation: The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which protects our favorite outdoor spaces since 1964, faces a significant risk. Without permanent funding for LWCF, crucial partnership work and AMC's grant request to protect the Barnard Forest in Maine will be affected.
• Suspended environmental research: Funding vital projects related to ecosystem resilience, climate change, watershed integrity, fisheries restoration, air and water quality, snowpack, and forest management and ecology are on hold, halting essential fieldwork and research.
• Habitat restoration at risk: Funding for fish passage restoration in Maine, designed to restore habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon and native brook trout, is being reduced, jeopardizing the health and enjoyment of fish populations.
• POTENTIAL PRIVATE PROFIT OVER PUBLIC LANDS: With staffing cuts to agencies like the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife, there is a growing risk of these cherished lands being sold off to private entities, such as oil and gas companies.

AMC: Ready for the Challenge

As a non-profit partner to land management agencies and an enduring voice for the outdoors since 1876, AMC is poised to meet this challenge. We'll:

1. Advocate for the protection of the Land and Water Conservation Fund on Capitol Hill.
2. Lead on state and private land, performing critical trail maintenance and ensuring clean and enjoyable outdoor experiences around AMC huts and lodges.
3. Continue our long-standing air and water quality monitoring in the Northeast, providing invaluable data for research partners and academic institutions.
4. Provide visitor services, backcountry support, and land management at AMC destinations, so your outdoor adventures are safe, enjoyable, and hassle-free.

We won't back down. AMC is here to stay, and we're inviting you to join us in this fight for our beloved outdoors.

1. Renew Your Membership, or Become an AMC Member: Your support amplifies our advocacy and strengthens our protection of the outdoors.
2. Join Our Conservation Action Network (CAN): Stay informed and influence the way your representatives vote on crucial environmental issues.
3. Volunteer with AMC: Lend a hand in maintaining and repairing public trails, becoming part of the solution for outdoor recreation affected by federal cuts.
4. Make a Donation to AMC: Your generosity directly supports our work in preserving the outdoors.

Now more than ever, it's time to stand together in defense of our precious natural resources. Let's meet this challenge hand in hand, and step out into the great outdoors.

1. The looming threat to public lands demands our immediate attention, as funding cuts may lead to trail maintenance being neglected.
2. Climate-change research, a crucial aspect of environmental-science, could cease if funding for essential projects is halted.
3. Renewable-energy projects, which offer an alternative to fossil fuels and combat climate change, may experience setbacks due to industry regulations being rolled back.
4. With reduced funding, the finance sector may overlook investments in sustainable-living and green technology, slowing the transition to a cleaner future.
5. Environmental-regulations being relaxed could put the long-term health of our environment, including the quality of air, water, and outdoor-living, at risk.
6. In the housing-market, the reduction in funding for federal agencies may lead to less oversight, potentially allowing for private entities, such as real-estate developers, to exploit public lands.
7. Disruptions in funding could also impact education-and-self-development, leading to a reduction in lifelong-learning opportunities, particularly in data-and-cloud-computing and other technology fields.
8. The suspension of scientific research, including sports-related studies, could delay progress in understanding the impact of climate-change on athletic performance and facilities.
9. Personal-finance could suffer as a result of the housing-market instability caused by cuts to federal oversight and potential private ownership of public lands.
10. Without robust funding, our region's favorite outdoor spaces, protected by organizations like the Appalachian Mountain Club, may be jeopardized, threatening our lifestyle and enjoyment of the outdoors.
11. To counteract these challenges, we must actively engage, donating to organizations, volunteering, and advocating for the preservation of our outdoors, ensuring a brighter future for all.

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