Public Land Defender
Now that I have the T-shirt, what’s next?
Sometime in the early 2020’s I got to see Purple Mountains at the Patagonia Outlet in Reno and there Jeremy Jones not only talked about the film, climate change, the possibility of a winter without snow, but he asked the big question, “If you consider yourself an advocate, are you willing to become an activist?” This is a paraphrase from memory but I roll over the concept frequently. What is your level of commitment to conservation? Jones is a great public speaker, at no point did I feel pressured or shamed in evaluating am I an ally, advocate, or activist when it comes to fighting for nature’s rights, combatting climate change, or defending public lands. This is a deeply personal choice and we need all three types of supporters to move towards a secure future.
Jones went so far as to create Protect Our Winters, a non-profit dedicated to lobbying for change at the federal level to reduce CO2 emissions in order to curb global warming. Central to the mission was recognizing the Outdoor State, the 181 million or so outdoor users who are primed to vote for supportive legislation. POW has created an alliance of charismatic outdoor athletes, not only skiing and snowboarding professionals but climbing, water sports, running and biking athletes as well. Then they incorporated an alliance of scientists and artists to tell their stories. The website has a comprehensive toolbox for the individual advocate and corporate CEO to shape and tell their stories.
So much of Jones's leadership comes through in Purple Mountains and Purple Mountains, Live Free or Die. I particularly cue in to his communication style when talking to climate deniers. The skill of being able to communicate with those who don’t share our views is becoming a lost art. Jones provides a valuable case study in this lost art of civility.
I was triggered into this topic reading an interpretive panel about Joshua Trees in Lee Flats, Saline Valley, Death Valley National Park, during my recent Mega Death Tour. I thought I had a photo of the panel but I must not have taken one (but I found it on the internet here, amazing!). From memory the panel gave basic biology and background on the Joshua Tree, including the name origin, the tree's arms were pointing the way to the promised land, the particular moth pollinators, multiple species of the Yucca moth, to the vulnerability of the Joshua Tree to climate change. The J-tree’s range is primarily the Mojave Desert, but also touches the Sonoran, and Great Basin’s deserts. The summers are getting hotter and drier. The winters are getting warmer at rates the flora and fauna cannot adapt or expand into refugia. Joshua Trees are susceptible to wildfires, so evident to Doug and me on the Mojave Butterfly Route. It is a wonder how an interpretive panel about a charismatic and iconic species can trigger a memory that inspires an essay, all through adventure travel.
So now that I have the T-shirt (thank you Bikepacking Roots for this gift), what is next? A mission that has come out of sharing my adventures while bikepacking in Nevada is fostering stewardship through sustainable adventure travel, especially by bicycle. The most effective method I have found is getting folks out there, exposing them to our public lands at a rate that gives them the time to be in it. Jones talks about this too in reference to hiking big mountains to snowboard down them, sometimes for days at a time. Then give them some context and resources for further searching. I tell my stories, but I love seeing others’ stories as well. We need to amplify our voices together.
I was asked about doing a bike tour along US 50 in response to a proposed Greenlink power line along the scenic “Loneliest Highway” by a friend at Nevada Wildlife Federation. Then I came across a story on NPR, “Federal review reopened for Nevada transmission line amid sage grouse habitat concerns.” I reached out to my friend again, “What do we do?” She responded, “Comment! Get others to comment! Maybe even write about it on your platform with a link where others can comment. Outside of liasoning with decision makers, this is something the public can take action on. They just need to know about it in the first place!” All of this is participation in democracy. It all follows the playbook laid out in the Protect Our Winters’s resources.
Check out the resources below and I hope to see you out there!
Blister Podcast - Jeremy Jones on his new film Purple Mountains, Sept 14, 2020
Joshua Tree biology and conservation status - National Wildlife Federation
Western Watersheds - Proposed Greenlink Transmission Lines Would Industrialize Nevada’s Outback and Harm Sage Grouse and Conservationists Delay Greenlink North Transmission Project
Where you can comment: FNW Save the Esmeralda/Fish Lake ACEC
Sage and Sand: NV Energy’s Greenlink Debacle, on Substack
Basin and Range Watch: Data Centers or Sage-Grouse? Conservationists Delay Greenlink North Transmission Project, on Substack
Outdoor Alliance - check out their Take Action tab
Surfrider Foundation - an early influence to Jeremy Jones on the power of conservation nonprofits
February in Review
I started off the month “just” over my cold/cough so I was eager to get some hours of saddle time before my upcoming tour in Death Valley National Park. I got a couple gravel rides, a couple road rides, and a couple indoor trainer rides before the departure from Eureka Dunes, Feb 11. The plan was to meet Doug Artman a day or so into the route. As I pulled up next to his truck I saw Doug in my rear view mirror. He told me there was a sandstorm that blew out the zippers on his tent! He was done before he started and was heading home. I was there ready to ride, with a plan and the time so I took off on the Mega Death Tour, 11 days, 414 miles, 35,740’ of climbing. The impression I kept coming back to was the size of everything out there! It must have been the sensation Luke Skywalker had seeing the Death Star for the first time. The climbs were challenging along with the weather but there was nothing I couldn’t handle. Doug is the creator of the route and per usual it is very good! Since the tour I have been riding some in preparation for Brazil, a 2 ½ week tour over 900 miles from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia and the area.
In Bikepacking Northern Nevada (the blog) I posted my annual review:
Looking Ahead
March starts with my birthday! Yep, turning 55 this year on March 6! Life is very good. Then I head to Brazil, March 7, for the above mentioned tour. About a year ago, returning from Taiwan, I casually opened Ride with GPS, opened the Route Planner, put the starting pin on Rio’s International Airport and the finishing pin in the Brasilia neighborhood where I was living in the early 80’s. The route was awesome, rural, primarily dirt roads, through agricultural, historic mining, and upcoming communities. I thought, “I could do this!” And now I am.
I return on the 27th, and on the 28th I have wilderness first aid training with Wildwood Open Lands Foundation.
April starts with the annual trip to Benton Hot Springs. I am looking forward to expanding some of the gravel riding Marc Pfister and I did last year. There has been a Mai Tai challenge established within our group of camp friends. I am pretty sure I got this! Friends of Black Rock High Rock will be hosting the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Reno on the 18th. In the last week of the month I hope to get out for a trip, weather and conditions dependent. It has been such a warm winter with interjected storms it is very hard to plan.
The May calendar has a mid month trip on the Applegate Trail with Wildwood Open Lands Foundation. Typically at the end of May FBRHR collaborates with Friends of Nevada Wilderness for the BLM’s Black Rock Rendezvous. There hasn’t been any discussion of that yet, so we shall see. Either way I will plan a trip for the end of May. In my mind weather “certainty” comes to Northern Nevada in June. And Mother Nature is rolling on the floor with laughter!
Wow! Three years here on Substack starting with The Pitch and Canary in the Coal Mine. Thank you for supporting my storytelling. Let me know if there is anything I can d to help get you out there.
Happy birthday! I'm new to Substack and this is my first time coming across your page but your adventures are inspiring and photos are stunning! Have an amazing time in Brazil :)
Congratulations on three years of writing on Substack. Thanks for taking me on those long bike rides and sharing your perceptions of earth and nature, emotional realizations, and how to stayed connected with service. Your commitment gives me an opportunity to explore my co-creations with the land under my feet, be humble, and stay focused on how much all beings of nature gives us to live fully.
About your birthday/home coming trip to Brazil-Wow-What a journey. May the force be with you. 🚴♀️