Higher Collectively: The REI Cooperative Motion Community Neighborhood Celebrates Historic Wins

What if the saying “Many palms make mild work” utilized to inspiring actual, lasting coverage change for all times exterior? Effectively, excellent news: It does, because of the REI Cooperative Motion Community, a change-making platform the place co-op members mobilize towards our shared targets of defending areas we love, increasing outside entry and supporting initiatives that deal with local weather change.  

Since 2021, the Cooperative Motion Community has outfitted greater than 350,000 individuals—REI Co-op Members, employees, prospects, nonprofit companions and extra—with the sources and knowledge they should increase their voices and make a distinction. Collectively, we’ve despatched greater than 1.25 million messages to legislators and different decision-makers, leading to astounding wins for each individuals and the planet.  

Listed here are only a few of the REI Co-op Member group’s victories. 

Higher Trails

Get able to run and trip on improved native trails because of $45 million in funding for the Energetic Transportation Infrastructure Funding Program (ATIIP), which gives grants to assist communities construct and join path networks for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair customers and extra. These path enhancements will assist scale back automotive dependency throughout communities and supply secure, clear methods for extra U.S. residents to get the place they should go, all whereas decreasing visitors and air pollution and serving to individuals be lively open air.  

Along with our companions from Rails to Trails Conservancy, the Cooperative Motion Community mobilized greater than 18,000 REI Co-op group members to assist the creation and full funding of this program by Congress – constructing on current infrastructure to make sustainable transportation and recreation a actuality.  

More healthy State Parks

State parks in Texas welcome practically 10 million annual guests, and but the state has ranked 35^th within the nation for park acreage per capita. In 2023, voters in Texas stated sure to the way forward for their state park system by voting to create the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, a $1 billion fund to increase and enhance public lands throughout the state, all with out growing Texans’ taxes. This fund will assist shield land and water sources, tackle areas strained by overcrowding, and usually enhance parkgoers’ entry and expertise in these lovely locations.  

In partnership with the Texas Coalition for State Parks and 90 different organizations, REI Co-op Members have helped assure that future generations of Texans and vacationers can get pleasure from world-class parks and guarded pure areas all through the Lone Star State.

New and Expanded Nationwide Monuments

America’s wild areas are extra than simply lovely; they’re culturally, traditionally and spiritually significant to numerous Indigenous individuals who have stewarded them for hundreds of years, and to various nature-deprived communities throughout the nation. For greater than a century, establishing, increasing and defending these websites with nationwide monument designation has been a robust approach to preserve these locations for the enjoyment of all.  

“The mountains should be protected, as a result of they’re our operators for our prayers,” says Carletta Tilousi, Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition Coordinator and Havasupai tribal member. “They’re our antennas, in order that our prayers can attain out into the cosmos and onto the heavens.” The Havasupai have lived within the Grand Canyon for hundreds of years, and had been amongst a number of tribal and conservationist organizations that REI Co-op partnered with to encourage monument designation for seven important websites:  

• Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Nationwide Monument 
• San Gabriel Mountains Nationwide Monument Enlargement 
• Berryessa Snow Mountain Nationwide Monument Enlargement 
• Chuckwalla Nationwide Monument and Enlargement of Joshua Tree Nationwide Park 
• Nice Bend of the Gila 
• Dolores River Canyon 
• Sáttítla–Medication Lake Highlands 

“A monument designation would imply that our animals will likely be protected,” Tilousi continuessays. “And likewise, our historic trails and our historic burial websites.”  

In 2024, President Biden awarded nationwide monument designations or expansions to Baaj Nwaavjo I’ta Kukveni–Acenstral Footprints of the Grand Canyon; Berryessa Snow Mountain Nationwide Monument and Molok Luyuk; and the San Gabriel Mountains Nationwide Monument. You’ll be able to nonetheless use your voice to assist the remaining monuments by becoming a member of the REI Cooperative Motion Community, tribal leaders and nonprofits throughout the nation in supporting the Mobilizing for Monuments coalition. 

E-Bike Incentives

Decreasing our dependency on automotive journey can bolster our planet’s well being in addition to our personal security and well-being: Transportation accounts for practically 30% of greenhouse gasoline emissions yearly in the US, and the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration reported 42,795 motorized vehicle accident–associated deaths in 2022. The rising reputation of e-bikes is permitting extra individuals to journey effectively with no need to refill their gasoline tank, and electric-bike expertise makes touring over longer distances and difficult terrain extra accessible. Nevertheless, e-bikes are significantly costlier than conventional bicycles, which may make them out of attain for a lot of.  

The REI Cooperative Motion Community has championed a bunch of metropolis and state measures to cut back the price of e-bikes. In 2023, legislators in Minnesota and Washington, D.C., handed incentive packages masking or reimbursing a share of e-bike purchases; in June of 2024, the Atlanta metropolis council handed its personal e-bike rebate pilot program. 

This fall, voters throughout the nation accredited practically $26 billion in native bike initiatives, together with e-bike incentives. But there are nonetheless alternatives to assist packages to increase entry for individuals of all revenue ranges entry to low-carbon transportation: Take motion at the moment by telling Congress to move the E-BIKE ACT and provide a 30% federal tax credit score of as much as $1,500 on the acquisition of recent e-bikes, or when you stay in New York and Oregon, let your leaders know you assist e-bike incentives for residents.  

Investing in Out of doors Futures

In response to the Belief for Public Land, greater than 100 million people within the U.S.—notably these with decrease incomes, these dwelling in city areas, or who lack accessible transportation—battle to get pleasure from outside areas near dwelling. To fight this, REI Co-op has invested in and partnered with group organizations who actively work to guard public lands, create extra native parks and enhance entry for hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the nation.  

In New Mexico, the passage of the bipartisan Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, established the first-ever devoted supply of everlasting funding for statewide conservation packages. Thanks partly to the advocacy of our group, a complete of $400 million will likely be devoted to supporting and bettering current initiatives and infrastructure. 

“The legacy fund is ready as much as be form of like a retirement account,” explains Western Useful resource Advocates coverage supervisor Brittany Fallon, Ph.D., who teamed up with the Cooperative Motion Community group in advocating for the undertaking. “It generates compound curiosity over time, identical to your retirement account. The extra we make investments, the extra sources we’re going to have for on-the-ground initiatives that have an effect on New Mexicans, and this consists of issues that have an effect on actually everybody within the state.” A noncomprehensive record consists of wildfire and drought mitigation, initiatives to enhance river well being and guarantee New Mexicans have clear ingesting water, wildlife habitat and inhabitants safety, path and different recreation infrastructure upkeep, cultural and historic web site preservation, and expanded entry to the outside for all kids within the state.  

REI Co-op was based on the concept we are able to accomplish much more once we work collectively, and we proceed to be a special form of firm, devoted not solely to having fun with our time open air, however to defending and bettering entry to it for future generations.  

Out of doors Recreation for All

Quick for “Increasing Public Lands Out of doors Recreation Experiences Act,” the bipartisan EXPLORE Act is likely one of the most consequential outside recreation acts proposed since 1963. It’s designed to reinforce and increase outside recreation alternatives throughout the nation, from adaptive trails to long-distance biking to mountain climbing and past. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) launched the package deal—which took greater than a decade to draft in full—to the Home in November 2023, and it there in April 2024—with zero opposition. The EXPLORE Act handed within the Senate Dec. 19 throughout the post-election “lame duck” session that’s utilized by a sitting Congress to deal with pressing payments and different issues earlier than the elected officers take workplace. REI Co-op—alongside the Nationwide Recreation and Park Affiliation, PeopleForBikes, Out of doors Alliance, Entry Fund, Worldwide Mountain Biking Affiliation, Out of doors Alliance for Children and Belief for Public Land, amongst others—has been a vital participant within the creation of this huge coverage package deal. 

EXPLORE builds on the momentum for outside coverage, which has skyrocketed over the previous 10 years because of elevated consciousness in regards to the myriad social, emotional, psychological and bodily advantages of spending high quality time exterior.

In sum, the EXPLORE Act will enhance entry to our nation’s public lands and waters by:

• Enhancing outside entry for present and previous army service members, people with disabilities, and children.
• Streamlining the allowing course of for outfitters and guides, and decreasing charges for small companies.
• Coordinating federal businesses to assist and promote outdoor-based missions, from recreation to conservation and administration.
• Defending rock-climbing in a number of the sports activities’ most iconic locations and creating new long-distance bike trails.
• Addressing outdated and missing infrastructure in gateway communities, and funding outside infrastructure in underserved communities.

Be taught extra in regards to the EXPLORE Act right here.

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