A Final Opportunity to Protect the Magic of Winter in Yellowstone. Please Make Your Voice Heard!

A Final Opportunity to Protect the Magic of Winter in Yellowstone. Please Make Your Voice Heard!

The deadline for comment is July 18, 2011.

It’s so close you can almost taste, smell and hear the crystalline air, gurgling geysers, and squeak of cold snow underfoot in a Yellowstone National Park that is managed to further restore and permanently protect the natural sights and sounds of winter. So close, but we’re not there yet. You and I have a final opportunity to urge Yellowstone to adopt a permanent plan for winter access that protects the Park and at the same time improves the visitor experience. Please help us complete the transition to a healthier, cleaner, and quieter Yellowstone by commenting right now.

Park officials recently released a Draft Winter Use Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement including a “preferred alternative” that the park proposes to adopt. The plan, once finalized, will take effect in December, 2011 and will guide winter activities in Yellowstone for decades to come. The Park Service is accepting public comment on the Draft Plan/DEIS through July 18, 2011.

After 12 years of political wrangling, nearly a million public comments, and, yes, a few discouraging setbacks, Yellowstone National Park is closer than ever to being the winter sanctuary its founders envisioned when they established Yellowstone as our first national park. Under an interim plan – the direct result of legal action by Winter Wildlands Alliance and four coalition partners – the park has made a profound comeback from its days of being overwhelmed by the noise and exhaust of snowmobiles.

The draft plan’s preferred alternative includes some good ideas that deserve praise. Services for skiers, snowshoers, and other low-impact visitors are improved and include a number of side roads set aside as ski and snowshoe routes. This plan acknowledges, finally, the strong public demand for skiing, snowshoeing and other quiet experiences in Yellowstone’s winter season.

However, the preferred alternative authorizes numbers of snowmobiles on peak days that are higher than either the interim plan or the average of the past five years, the number above which the park’s own scientists note will undercut Yellowstone’s resurgent conditions and adversely impact wildlife, natural soundscapes and air quality.

Please take a moment right now to tell Yellowstone’s new superintendent that you want Yellowstone’s winter recovery to continue. That you don’t want the park to slide back to levels of snowmobile traffic that disturbed wildlife, made noise a constant unpleasant companion and diminished the experience of visiting Yellowstone to a degree that led many folks – including you? - to regard the first national park in the world as a place to mostly avoid in winter.

Please ensure a better future for Yellowstone by submitting comments today. The deadline for comment is July 18, 2011.

HOW TO COMMENT: Click on the following link, which will take you to the NPS Comment Webpage:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?parkID=111&projectID=29281&documentID=40801

You may also comment by mail to:

Yellowstone National Park

Winter Use DEIS

P.O. Box 168

Yellowstone NP, WY 82190.

Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or in any other way than those specified above.

See below for a sample letter and talking points. Please cut and paste the points you believe are most important into your letter on the web comment page and be sure to add any relevant personal experience in the park.

____________________________________________________________________________

Sample Comment Letter:

Superintendent Dan Wenk
Yellowstone National Park

Winter Use DEIS

P.O. Box 168

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190

Dear Superintendent Wenk:

As a Nordic skier [or snowshoer, winter hiker, etc.] who values the natural sights and sounds of Yellowstone in winter, I appreciate the improvements to Yellowstone’s winter environment resulting from reduced motorized traffic and the requirements for cleaner, quieter machines and for commercial guiding of all snowmobiles. I also appreciate your renewed emphasis on providing better services for skiers, snowshoers and other low-impact winter visitors.

Your Draft Winter Use Plan’s acknowledgment that visitors highly value quiet in Yellowstone and your preferred alternative’s proposal to designate certain side roads as ski and snowshoe routes and to limit motorized travel on the east side of the park in March are positive steps.

However, these positive steps are overshadowed by your proposal to allow snowmobile numbers during peak times that are significantly higher than past seasons and higher than your own scientists recommend for protecting park resources and ensuring visitor enjoyment. Your soundscapes experts have verified during recent seasons that when snowmobile numbers declined below 200 per day that visitors’ opportunities to hear sounds like the hiss and splash of erupting geysers at Old Faithful are significantly improved. Furthermore, your biologists have cautioned that if vehicle numbers are allowed to increase from their recent, reduced levels, adverse impacts to winter-stressed wildlife may increase and cause “fitness effects,” reducing animals’ health and the strength they require to survive Yellowstone’s winters.

Your Environmental Impact Statement states that visitors who prefer and expect quiet in Yellowstone National Park will have the opportunity to consult a schedule in future winters to learn which days will have less vehicle traffic and thus less noise and plan their visit for those days. Your suggestion that I check ahead to learn if I will have opportunities to experience winter quiet and natural sounds is, in reality, an acknowledgment that 330 snowmobiles a day during peak periods – an increase of more than 50 percent from recent seasons – is simply too many vehicles in the park. Please don’t contradict your scientific findings and forsake stewardship of the park in order to provide a recreational snowmobiling experience that exceeds current demand.

In addition, please do not modify your requirement that all recreational snowmobilers be accompanied by a commercial guide. You have stated in the Federal Register that the 100 percent commercial guiding requirement has been a “fundamental element” of mitigating unsafe and illegal snowmobile use, which prior to the guiding requirement included speeding, driving off roads, endangering other visitors and disturbing wildlife. Your analysis of winter use have stated that because commercial guiding clusters snowmobiles in larger groups, it has helped provide noise-free intervals. You have also noted commercial guiding has helped snowmobile visitors understand and appreciate the park. In short, please do not contradict your own findings.

I urge you to adopt a long-term winter use plan that caps over-snow vehicle numbers at or below those experienced during the past five winter seasons, numbers at which Yellowstone is on a path to again become America’s most beloved winter sanctuary. Above all, please give Yellowstone a sustainable winter transportation system befitting of the world’s first national park, one that minimizes impacts while accommodating enjoyment of Yellowstone’s unparalleled winter environment.

Sincerely,

Name

Address

____________________________________________________________________________________

Background and Additional Talking Points:

With your help, we've made enormous progress in providing the best possible protection for Yellowstone over the past decade. We’ve eliminated the noisiest and most-polluting forms of winter access and moderated the disruption to wintering wildlife. The park has indeed become healthier as snowmobile numbers have been reduced and visitors have turned increasingly to entering the park under their own power or on more environmentally-friendly snowcoaches. We have a final opportunity to bring permanence to these improved conditions.

The National Park Service has prepared a Draft Winter Use Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Yellowstone National Park. The purpose of the Winter Use Plan is to establish a management framework for Yellowstone’s unique and valuable winter recreational resources. The plan will take effect in December, 2011, when the present two-year interim plan expires.

You can view the draft plan and proposed alternatives at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/YELL

The Plan’s “Preferred Alternative” proposes a variable use level of over-snow vehicle numbers allowed during the season. This includes up to 330 snowmobiles for half the winter, or about 45 days, up to 220 snowmobiles for a third of the season, or about 30 days and between 110 and 143 snowmobiles per day for a sixth of the season, or about 15 days. Snowcoach numbers would vary correspondingly, ranging from up to 80 snowcoaches during peak periods to 30 snowcoaches per day during low periods.

For the past two winter seasons Yellowstone National Park has operated under an interim plan that allowed 318 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches per day to enter the park. The interim plan includes “Best Available Technology” and 100 percent commercial guiding requirements for all snowmobiles. Actual use under the interim plan has been 194 snowmobiles and 40 snowcoaches per day. The average number of snowmobiles for the past five seasons has been approximately 250 per day. During this period of reduced over-snow vehicle traffic Yellowstone’s unique winter ecosystem has experienced a profound resurgence.

Yellowstone’s new superintendent, Dan Wenk, has said it is very likely the final plan will change from the “preferred alternative” before a decision is made later this year. Your comments can help motivate the superintendent to improve upon the preferred alternative by further reducing vehicle traffic; increasing services for skiers, snowshoers and other low-impact visitors; and better protecting Yellowstone’s wildlife and unique natural resources. Following are some points you may want to consider in your comments.

Non-motorized use: The park’s preferred alternative proposes to set aside certain side roads as ski and snowshoe routes. This could include Firehole Canyon Drive, North Canyon Rim Drive, Riverside Drive, Fountain Flat Road, Firehole Lake Drive, Grand Loop Road from Canyon Junction to the Washburn Hot Springs Overlook, and Virginia Cascades. In addition, the preferred alternative proposes that when Yellowstone’s winter season begins winding down in March, motorized traffic going northbound on the east side of the park would end at West Thumb, and coming south on the east side it would end at Canyon. This would keep most of Yellowstone’s east side free of motorized vehicles from March 2 to March 15. This is a positive step for quiet, non-motorized enjoyment of Yellowstone and something you may want to affirm to the park’s managers.

Motorized use: The National Park Service is proposing a patchwork of four different traffic levels across Yellowstone’s winter season. Daily snowmobile numbers would range from 110 to 330. Daily snowcoach numbers would range from 30 to 80. Park officials say the variable traffic levels would provide a mix of visitor experiences with days that would be noisier and days that would be quieter.

In reality, however, on most of the season’s 91 days the preferred alternative would allow a larger number of snowmobiles than visitors have experienced in recent winters when reduced snowmobiling brought easing of noise and less disturbance of wildlife. The proposal to allow daily snowmobile numbers to increase fails to act on scientific findings from those seasons and on the National Park Service’s policies, which require the NPS to “preserve, to the greatest extent possible, the natural soundscapes of the parks.”

The National Park Service’s soundscapes experts measured the effects on listening conditions at Old Faithful in recent seasons as the popularity of multi-passenger snowcoaches has increased and fewer visitors overall have opted to enter the park on snowmobiles. When the number of snowmobiles declined below 200 per day, scientists measured a significant improvement in visitors’ opportunities to hear sounds that define the Old Faithful area such as the hiss and splash of erupting geysers. Yet the National Park Service is proposing to allow up to 330 snowmobiles a day—an increase of over 50 percent from recent seasons—and discloses in its environmental impact statement that noise loud enough to interfere with good listening conditions in Yellowstone would increase compared to the “current condition.”

The National Park Service also acknowledges in its environmental impact statement that its preferred alternative would have a greater adverse impact on wildlife than an alternative that would cap over-snow vehicle numbers at or below the level of the past five seasons. The study reflects that with greater numbers of vehicles, impacts would be greater both to individual elk and bison and to local populations of both species, and that impacts to trumpeter swans and bald eagles could “heighten the probability of adverse impacts on the reproductive success of both species.”

Winter Wildlands Alliance and our coalition partners are concerned that although the preferred alternative includes some positive elements, overall it represents a failure to provide the best available protection of Yellowstone. As such, it represents a de-prioritization of stewardship in the world’s first national park because it chooses to permit greater wildlife disturbance and noise pollution in order to provide a recreational snowmobile experience that exceeds current demand. Yellowstone can, and must, do better.

Nearly eleven years ago, the National Park Service in 2000 adopted a Record of Decision to phase out the use of snowmobiles within Yellowstone National Park by the winter of 2003-2004. Based on sound science and in accordance with National Park Service legal mandates and policies, that decision was overturned by the Bush Administration in 2001. Since that reversal, the public has responded to the winter use debate in Yellowstone in unprecedented numbers. Over 900,000 Americans have submitted comments to the National Park Service. Over 80 percent have urged Yellowstone to end snowmobile use and adopt the “least impacting” means of visiting the Park’s interior in winter—the originally envisioned transition to snowcoach access that subsequent studies verified would best protect park resources. Much of the public comment focused specifically on the critical importance of applying science and upholding the National Park Service’s stewardship responsibility to emphasize conservation over use whenever the two are in conflict.

Former Directors of the National Park Service have come together to emphasize in joint letters to the Department of Interior that weakening protection of Yellowstone by authorizing continued snowmobile use within the Park “would be a radical departure from the Department’s stewardship mission.” They cautioned: “The choice over snowmobile use in Yellowstone is a choice between upholding the founding principle of our national parks—stewardship on behalf of all visitors and future generations—or catering to a special interest in a manner that would damage Yellowstone’s resources and threaten public health. The latter choice would set an entirely new course for America’s national parks.” National Park Service Directors from the last eight presidential administrations specifically pointed out: “…reducing snowmobile numbers still further—from 250 per day to zero—while expanding public access on modern snowcoaches, would further improve the park’s health.”

ACTION ALERT - 2011 Lolo Pass

Comment sought on proposed winter road closures near Lolo Pass

To manage access and maintain an existing recreation opportunity in the Lolo Pass area the Missoula Ranger District is proposing to close two roads that access two popular recreation back-country skiing and snowboarding areas known as “Crystal Theater,” and “The Spot.” Under the proposal the roads would be closed to motorized travel in the winter.

These roads are already closed to wheeled vehicles yearlong and to snowmobiles from 10/15 to 12/1. The winter motorized closures would maintain the existing non-motorized backcountry skiing and snowboarding opportunities in the area and be consistent with the existing summer motorized closure of the two roads. The two road currently receive very light motorized winter-time use and the proposed road closures would not affect the existing groomed snowmobile trail system or any of the current off road snowmobile play areas, according to Andy Kulla, Missoula Ranger District Recreation Staff Officer.

“We are trying to maintain a recreation opportunity near Missoula in the future with little or no restriction on existing recreation use patterns,” Kulla said. “It is specific to these few sections where the Crystal Theater and The Spot with their unique geographic characteristics provide a highly-valued winter-time backcountry skiing and snowboarding experience.”

In the 2010 Legacy Acquisition, the Missoula Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest acquired 39,249 acres of former Plum Creek Timberland in the Lolo Creek drainage south of Missoula. Since that time the Forest Service has been reviewing and gathering information on the historical recreation uses that have occurred on these acquired lands in order to better understand and manage these lands in the future.

Three areas in upper Lolo Creek have historically, and are currently, used by backcountry skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers seeking a non motorized quiet experience. These areas either included or centered around what was previously Plum Creek land, but are now National Forest.

According to Kulla, the areas provide unique recreation experiences because they are close to Missoula, close to plowed open roads, have dependable snow, offer diverse terrain and are relatively safe from avalanches. Two historically used areas that were formerly owned by Plum Creek and meet these criteria are known as the Crystal Theater (Section 3, T10N R24W) and The Spot (Section 35 T11N R24W). Lee Creek is the third area and used to have cross country trails but the marked trails were abandoned in the 1990’s due to an increase in Plum Creek logging and wintertime log hauling. Lee Creek Road 699 has been closed to motorized vehicles in the winter for decades from Lee Creek Campground to the Montana / Idaho Stateline.

These backcountry areas in Lolo Creek are surrounded by a 226 mile groomed snowmobile trail system that lies in both Montana and Idaho. Ninety-eight of these 226 miles lie in Montana on the Missoula Ranger District in the Lolo Creek Watershed. Over 100 square miles (over 65,000 acres) in the Lolo Creek drainage are open to snowmobiling on groomed and un-groomed terrain.

Missoula District Ranger Paul Matter is asking for public comments on this proposal. Please direct comments to Al Hilshey at ahilshey@fs.fed.us or at the Missoula Ranger District; Building 24A, Fort Missoula; Missoula, MT 59804 by June 15, 2011. For additional information, contact the Missoula Ranger District at (406) 329-3814.

Good News and Bad News from Washington

The Good: Winter Wildlands Goes to the White House

WWA Executive Director Mark Menlove was one of 90 conservation, recreation and political leaders invited to the East Room of the White House for President Obama’s unveiling of a special report on America’s Great Outdoors, a Presidential initiative aimed at reconnecting Americans to the outdoors.

The report highlights the benefits of active, outdoor lifestyles and, among other directives calls for the establishment of a 21^st Century Conservation Service Corps to engage young people in public lands and water restoration. The President also called for the creation of an interagency America’s Great Outdoors Council to enhance collaboration between federal agencies on recreation and conservation initiatives and to support outdoor recreation opportunities on public lands. In addition, the report recommends the formation of Partnership of non-governmental stakeholders to advise federal agencies and to promote innovation and partnership opportunities.

WWA has been actively engaged in the America’s Great Outdoors initiative since the concept was first announced a year ago. Last summer WWA hosted two listening sessions, one in Boise and the other in Jackson, Wyoming, to gather input from the human-powered recreation community for the initial phase of the report. The White House invitation was extended in recognition of WWA’s standing in the outdoor recreation community and its leadership role in the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of national human-powered recreation organizations that WWA helped found.

The Bad: Forest Service Denies Request to Manage Snowmobiles Under Off-Road Vehicle Guidelines

The U.S. Forest Service has denied a request from WWA and 90 recreation and conservation user groups asking that snowmobiles on national forest lands be managed under the same guidelines applied to all other classes of off-road vehicles.

In August 2010, WWA and our supporting partners submitted a petition to the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture formally requesting that the Agency amend the 2005 Travel Management Rule, the framework used to designate routes, trails and areas on each national forest unit open to motorized use. Petitioners requested the removal of an exemption making management of over-snow vehicles optional while making designations for all other classes of off-road vehicles mandatory.

In denying the request, the Forest Service stated that by including the option for a local forest official to determine whether to manage snowmobile use the 2005 Rule provides an “adequate mechanism for regulating over-snow vehicle use” and that national regulations for over-snow vehicle use are not required by law.

“Quiet recreation and responsible stewardship are getting the short end of the stick,” said WWA Executive Director Mark Menlove. “Our petition provided the legal and ecological rationale for the Agency to restore balance between motorized and non-motorized use in winter and to meet their obligation to protect public lands for future generations. We’re disappointed that the Agency continues to duck their responsibility.”

WWA believes the decision sends mixed signals: The petition response openly acknowledges that snowmobiles can have adverse impacts on air and water quality, native vegetation, fish and wildlife populations and habitat, and on other recreationists, and yet the Agency refuses to include snowmobiles in the framework that has proven successful in managing all other motorized use.

In denying the request to remove the over-snow vehicle exemption, the Forest Service did agree to develop guidelines on factors for local officials to consider if they choose to implement winter travel planning but gave no timeline for when those guidelines might be announced. “We appreciate the offer to establish better guidelines,” said Menlove, “but guidelines are of little use without a directive to actually follow them.”

While the Forest Service response is a setback, WWA will continue to push for Travel Management reform. “This denial leaves 81 million acres in the Western U.S. as unregulated free-for-all zones in winter where those with the biggest, loudest, most powerful toys get their run of the landscape and the rest of us are pushed aside,” concluded Menlove. This issue is too important to give up on. WWA will continue to work by whatever means available to fix this flawed regulation.

2011 Backcountry Film Festival

The Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival keeps getting bigger and better and the 2010-11 Tour was the best yet. Celebrating the human-powered experience, the festival promotes the work of grassroots filmmakers who tell entertaining and compelling stories of the winter backcountry and environmental preservation. WWA compiles the films into a 90 minute package and provides the festival to our Grassroots groups and SnowSchool sites as a means to fundraise and raise awareness on local issues.

This year, the 6th annual Backcountry Film Festival toured 53 cities, 4 continents, 5 countries, 16 states and was
enjoyed by more than 5000 outdoor enthusiasts! The festival entertained and engaged audiences young and old with fast-paced big mountain powder skiing, humorous and classic backcountry skiing footage and environmental activism through the six unique films chosen for the tour. Information tables and talks at the events further engaged and educated festival goers about issues affecting quiet winter use, the protection of public lands, and current environmental issues impacting our quality of life.

Collectively, this year’s festival raised more than $55,000 dollars for our Grassroots member groups and SnowSchool sites. The dollars raised benefited local communities by funding outdoor education programs, advocacy efforts, avalanche centers and winter equipment purchases.

We are already in the planning stages for the 2012 Backcountry Film Festival and will begin accepting film submissions soon. We look forward to continuing to improve and expand the festival. Thanks to all who attended the 2011 Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival, making it such a success!

Oh Yeah! And who was the big winner of the Black Diamond Grand Prize Giveaway? Drumroll please….Charles Lui from Sandpoint Idaho! Charles was kind enough to then turn around and give those sweet boards and BD gear to his wife. What a lucky gal!

Are you interested in hosting the film festival next year, or hosted this year and want to get on the schedule again? Contact Shelley Pursell at spursell at winterwildlands.org.

Proposed Forest Planning Rule: A New Approach?

The Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service have proposed a new Forest Planning Rule to guide land management plans for all units of the National Forest System. According to Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, "This proposed planning rule seeks to conserve our forests for the benefit of water, wildlife, recreation and the economic vitality of our rural communities."

While WWA has concerns about some aspects of the proposed rule – namely the amount of local discretion and the use of non-binding subjective terms such as “desired conditions,” “taking into account,” and “should consider,” that leave too much to interpretation and may lead to weakened protection for wildlife and resources – we are encouraged by the inclusion a Framework for Sustainable Recreation.

The proposed rule reads, “Through consideration of recreational values in a landscape context, NFS units would be expected to provide a mix of sustainable recreational opportunities that complement those of the surrounding area.” It further defines sustainable recreation as “…the set of recreational opportunities, uses and access that, individually and combined, are ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable, allowing the responsible official to offer recreation opportunities now and into the future.” The inclusion of the Framework for Sustainable Recreation is an
important acknowledgment that economically and socially important non-consumptive activities (including human-powered snowsports) need greater consideration in the Forest Planning process.

The proposed rule also includes consideration of climate change and includes requirements to “consider climate change in assessments, revising or amending plans, and in monitoring...” Considering the current 1982 Rule includes no consideration of climate change the inclusion of “adaptive framework” for climate change is a notable step forward.

Equally important is the proposed rule’s recognition of the important role national forest lands play in supplying America with clean water and the acknowledgement of the role Forest Plans play in protecting the quality and quantity of the nation’s water supply. According to the proposed rule “New or revised plans would consistently include
more direction for maintenance and restoration of watersheds composition, structure and function and protection for aquatic resources than existing plans.”

In regard to protecting wildlife, the proposed rule states, “NFS lands would be expected to consistently provide the ecological conditions necessary to maintain the diversity of plant and animal communities.” The proposed rule allows significant discretion within the Forest Service for managing wildlife compared to the existing planning regulations that require the Forest Service to maintain viable populations of all native and desired non-native species. WWA is
concerned that wildlife will receive less protection within the new plan.

WWA will voice our concerns in official comments and will at the same time commend the Forest Service and USDA on their good faith effort to promote sustainable recreation such as backcountry skiing, snowshoeing and winter hiking. Winter Wildlands Alliance will continue advocate for a Forest Planning Rule that requires sound science and finds the correct balance between national standards and directives and local discretion. To learn m ore about the Rule and to comment directly go to http://fs.usda.gov/planningrule. Comment period closes May 16, 2011.

Hahns Peak and the Columbine Access Project Results in a "Give and Take" Resolution

The controversial Columbine Access Project, which establishes a groomed snowmobile trail through Columbine Meadows, a historic non-motorized backcountry ski area near Hahn’s Peak, is scheduled to move forward with the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest’s decision that the project will not have “a significant effect on the human environment” and will therefore not require an Environmental Impact Statement. The project also establishes a three-acre parking area away from private homes to alleviate conflict between private home owners and snowmobilers.

While Winter Wildlands Alliance along with Friends of the Routt Backcountry and Colorado Mountain Club opposed the proposed motorized route through Columbine Meadows, we are pleased with another outcome of the decision that establishes a voluntary motorized closure area on Hahns Peak. The plan is intended to allow motorized access leading to areas popular with snowmobilers while preserving a traditional skier use area. Snowmobilers will be instructed to stay on the trail while passing through Columbine Meadows. If snowmobilers do not stay on the trail the plan calls for the Forest Supervisor to consider a mandatory closure to snowmobiles, to move the trail and/or eliminate “groomed” access from the Columbine side of Hahns Peak. With the establishment and protection of a significant non-motorized area on Hans Peak, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Friends of the Routt Backcountry, and Colorado Mountain Club have decided not to challenge the decision to allow the motorized trail. However we are working with the Forest Service to resolve several other details including insuring access to Hahns Peak for non-motorized recreationists. Winter Wildlands Alliance, Friends of the Routt Backcountry and Colorado Mountain Club anticipate that this access issue will be easily resolved.

Backcountry Partner Spotlight: Alpine Ambitions and 1102 in 2011 = $750 for WWA

This past January, the Winter Wildlands Alliance staff had the opportunity to meet Donny Roth of Alpine Ambitions. In addition to being an all around nice guy, Donny is a professional skier, writer, guide and instructor who has led groups through Chile and Argentina and written articles for numerous blogs and magazines. Donny told us he’s a fan of our work and that he loves to spread the word about Winter Wildlands Alliance. To help do that he came up with a great promotion! For the coming year, Alpine Ambitions has created a social media promo on Facebook. If they get 1102 “likes” on Facebook in the year 2011 (that’s 2011 backwards – get it?) Donny will donate $750 to WWA. So show Donny some love and check out the Alpine Ambitions page on Facebook. We all win in the end!