Building a Recreation Movement
WTA has built coalitions with other outdoor recreation groups, land managers and organizations from all corners of the state and created opportunities to empower all hikers to become champions for trails.
Washington is a big state with many beautiful places to explore, restore, maintain and sustain. To accomplish all this, WTA believes that our voices are stronger and have greater impact when we work together. That is why we have built coalitions with other outdoor recreation groups, land managers and organizations from all corners of the state and created opportunities to empower all hikers to become champions for trails.
We help create an outdoor advocate community by:
- Bringing together all corners of the recreation community through coalition-building.
Originally coalescing at the beginning of the pandemic, WTA developed the Recreate Responsibly Coalition, which has now grown into a national organization with chapters across the country. Our Washington chapter brings the outdoor recreation community together to learn, discuss and network. - Participating in regional and statewide collaboratives to strengthen outcomes for our trail networks.
WTA participates in a number of collaborative groups – like the Puget Sound Trail Access Network and Olympic National Forest Sustainable Recreation Collaborative - to ensure a recreation voice makes it into shared spaces for planning and advocacy. - Empowering individuals to become champions for trails.
We work with WTA youth ambassadors to train them in our advocacy issues and have created a connected outdoor advocate community through our 60,000+ member Trail Action Network. - Advocating for more community-benefitting research on the positive effects of nature on hearts, minds and bodies.
After encouraging the state legislature to fund the study in 2018, the “Economic and Health Benefits of Walking, Hiking, and Bicycling on Recreational Trails in Washington State” was published in late 2019, demonstrating the impact of trails and the outdoors on health and the economy.
How you help:
- Join the movement! Sign up for our Trail Action Network for the latest ways to get involved and speak up for trails and public lands.