Conservation is Bipartisan

...and other great reasons we support The Conservation Alliance

By Peak Design

November 29^th, 2022

TODAY, WE ARE DONATING 10% OF ALL SALES TO THE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE.

The Conservation Alliance protects public lands. Peak Design supports The Conservation Alliance. You shop from Peak Design. So really, you protect public lands. Hey, thanks!

Today, Giving Tuesday, we are donating 10% of our total sales to our close partners / friends at the Conservation Alliance. We have been giving to them for over seven years as a part of our 1% for the Planet membership. That membership shakes out to nearly $4,000,000 dollars given to environmental nonprofits so far. Pretty neat.

The Conservation Alliance brings outdoor recreation companies together to fund grassroots conservation groups and advocate for land and water protection at the federal level. Why should you care about conservation? Among other things, conservation:

Provides all Americans places to connect with nature.
Creates lasting engines of economic activity through recreation areas.
Protects biodiversity and natural habitats.
Helps fight climate change.
Enjoys bipartisan support.

Let's dig in and expand on a few of those and really savor that sweet taste of progress:

It takes two (sides of the aisle) to tango.

Conservation has a long bipartisan history. Teddy Roosevelt established 150 national forests, five national parks and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. The Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, were all passed unanimously by the Senate and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. The Great American Outdoors Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

Celebrating and cherishing our great outdoors is a part of America’s DNA, a DNA shared by Americans of all political stripes. TCA understands this and uses a deep rolodex of both grassroots contacts and policymakers from both sides of the aisle to make real and lasting progress.

Photo by Joel Caldwell for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a TCA grantee.

Coming to a backyard near you.

Chances are you’ve benefited from TCA’s work without knowing it. Since1989, they have helped protect over 73 million acres and 3,580 river miles across many states. From Texas to Maine to Ohio to California, TCA has supported conservation efforts throughout the country. So if they’re not working in your backyard now, chances are they will be in the future.

Protecting the Castner Range outside of El Paso, Texas is a priority campaign of TCA.

Nothing lasts forever...but good policy gets close.

TCA's secret sauce is in marrying that local on-the-ground grant-making with unified policy advocacy at the federal level (and that is, truly, a delicious sauce). The only way to ensure lasting protection for certain lands and waters is through policy. Pursuing legislation or executive action is a slow, tedious, and challenging process but one that is vital to successful conservation.

In addition to helping the local stakeholders get a seat at the table to speak with their federal representatives, TCA plays a key role in uniting hundreds of businesses (like ours!) to speak on behalf of outdoor spaces in need of protection. As TCA’s member base grows, so does its influence on elected officials to vote in favor of protecting public lands and water.

Representatives from member companies (including Peak!) gather in DC to advocate for our public lands and waters.

They mean business.

The Conservation Alliance was founded by companies in the outdoor industry who decided it was important to help protect the wild places that kept their businesses relevant. They realized that no outdoors means no outdoor industry. The organization now mobilizes over 270(!) companies working together toward unified conservation goals.

The outdoor recreation industry is among the most economically impactful U.S. industries; in 2021, it generated $862 billion in gross economic output. The outdoor recreation industry is larger than agriculture and oil, gas, and mining – industries that dominate the policymaking landscape and political discourse in D.C. TCA is working to change that.

Protecting the Boundary Waters from mining developments is a priority campaign of TCA.

We've long said that at Peak Design the outdoors is both our playground and our laboratory, a place where we stay sane, recreate, and come up with our best ideas. Hell, the products that launched our business are designed specifically to be used outdoors. To us, it feels absolutely vital that we give back to protecting these places, and we are certain that The Conservation Alliance is the right partner for that job. We are proud to support them today and every day.