Tools for Activists
- A hiker meets with her state senator in Olympia during WTA's Hiker Lobby Day.
Washington Trails Association works with decision makers to advance the interests of hikers when such issues are being decided -- but we can’t do it alone. Decision makers also need to hear directly from hikers. Your elected officials need to know that their constituents care about preserving wild lands, ensuring access to trails and providing adequate funding for general and emergency maintenance.
What can you do?
There are several ways to advocate for trails and the protection of wild lands. Here are a few ideas and tools to jump-start your advocacy efforts and your imagination:
Join the Trail Action Network
Get email Action Alerts about what is happening to Washington’s natural areas and trails and how you can help protect them. Learn more or join.
Write or email your elected officials
Send a handwritten letter or personal email expressing your support for increased wild land protections and hiking opportunities in Washington State.
- Helpful tips about writing to elected officials.
- Find your elected officials and their contact information.
Meet with your elected representatives
Face-to-face meetings with your elected officials are great ways to develop relationships and find out what your representatives really think about an issue. Sometimes being in the room with someone can be just as important as what is said.
Call your Members of Congress
Make your voice heard by calling your U.S. representative and senators and letting them know that you care about preservation of wild lands, access to trails and adequate funding for general and emergency maintenance. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121.
Gather trail data while you are hiking. WTA and land managers can't be every where in the backcountry so we depend on hikers to tell us what you see out on trail. Here are some forms to help report what you see.
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper
This is an easy and effective way to educate and persuade a large number of people about hiking and trail issues.
Post a comment on an outdoor recreation or environmental blog
Share your thoughts about how a new or proposed policy could affect the hiking community and educate others on how to become involved in the decision-making process. Check out WTA’s Signpost Blog for current threads of conversation and tips on posting compelling blog comments of your own.
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