Policy and Advocacy
Since its founding in 1902, the American Alpine Club has been a force in helping safeguard our country’s wild landscapes and natural treasures. Working alongside our members and partners, we focus on critical issues facing climbers and outdoor recreation nationally, such as keeping public lands pristine, wild, and open to human-powered recreation. All of us at the AAC find great joy and meaning in climbing, and we are committed to a thriving outdoor community sustained by healthy mountains and climbing landscapes for generations to come.
Our Policy Strategy
Our Vision: 5 million climbers empowered to protect climbing communities and ecosystems.
Our Mission: The mission of the AAC Policy Department is to grow and convene the community of civically active climbers, empower them with information, and partner with them in advocacy.
Our Strategy: Download this quick and dirty summary of how we are going to make that vision and mission happen.
The Climber’s Advocacy Network (CAN)
At the American Alpine Club, it is no secret that the power of our policy and advocacy work is fueled by passionate climbers from across the country. Regardless of who the individual may be or how they are connected to the Club, climbers are deeply engaged in the policy that affects the wild landscapes that they love.
The initial Climber’s Advocacy Network Hubs.
We believe that change happens when everyday climbers unite around a shared cause and are positioned to advocate for the interests of their community. That’s why we’ve spearheaded the Climbers' Advocacy Network (CAN), so we can better resource these grassroots advocacy initiatives cropping up in AAC communities across the country. Discover what the CAN volunteers are up to in each state, here.
Do you want to build community and at the same time, lend a hand to fight the good fight for public lands, equitable climbing access, and fighting climate change?
The CAN will equip volunteers and other climbers with information, and engage and represent climbers in advocacy. Our official policy strategy document, found here, illustrates in detail the various steps along the way we will utilize to facilitate this vision of an engaged network of informed climbers.
Our Policy Focus
The future of climbing, and all outdoor recreation, depends on a bounty of healthy open spaces and the ability to visit and enjoy them. For this reason our policy focus areas are:
● Protecting Public Lands
To ensure that public lands remain public, that they are well-resourced and that important conservation tools (like the Antiquities Act) are preserved so climbers can continue to practice their craft on the lands we love.
● Ensuring Lands are Open for Human-Powered Recreation
To streamline and update exclusionary permitting policies to ensure that climbers, guides and other organizations can get the permits they need to provide facilitated climbing experiences.
● Safeguarding Fragile Mountain and Climbing Environments
To understand our mountain and climbing environments, to promote sustainable use and effective management and to bring awareness to the impacts of a changing climate on the landscapes that inspire us.
● Combating Climate Change
To mitigate the effects of climate change through political advocacy, scientific research, and developing resources for members to make sustainable choices as they plan trips and expeditions. As an outdoor community whose ethos is inextricably linked to healthy mountain environments, the AAC is committed to fighting climate change.
Become A Climbing Advocate With the AAC
Join our team of advocates and get your voice heard! We will send you opportunities: to fight for public lands, comment on climbing land management proposals and big wall permit regulations, as well as bills on the federal level that impact accessibility and the fight against climate change. Sign up to be in-the-know about the policy issues that matter most to climbers.
Issue 006
The Summit Register
The Summit Register is the AAC’s digital zine focused exclusively on our policy and advocacy work, and how you as a climber can get involved. Each issue features the bills and initiatives the AAC is actively advocating for, as well as stories from a crag near you, and how local climbers are giving back to their climbing areas and communities. In our most recent issue, hear from Tommy Caldwell and our new Government Affairs Liaison, and dive deep into the conversation around conserving the Dolores River Canyon.
Updates from Your Policy Team
