This is my second episode with Adam Cramer, CEO of the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of ten national organizations representing the human-powered outdoor community—mountain biking, backcountry skiing, kayaking, climbing, trail running, and more. The Outdoor Alliance works to protect public lands and the places these communities love, getting deeply involved in conservation policy and empowering people to take action on behalf of the landscapes that matter to them. The last year has been a relentless one for public lands, with threats coming from every direction, and Adam and his team have been in the thick of it.

Normally my episodes are "evergreen," but given everything happening right now, I wanted to bring Adam back to give us an update on the current threats—as well as some genuine bright spots. This is such a moving target with so many moving pieces that it can be really hard to keep up with everything and, most importantly, to know how to stop talking and take action. So I brought Adam in to help us make sense of it all and give us some instruction on how we can go on the offense to keep public lands public.

We cover a lot of ground: the public lands sell-off that arose out of last summer's reconciliation bill and the massive, cross-partisan public blowback that killed it; the fight over the Roadless Rule; the rescinding of the BLM's Public Lands Rule; proposed changes to travel management and motorized vehicle rules; and the reorganization happening inside the land management agencies. But it's not all grim—Adam walks us through the real reasons for hope, including bipartisan efforts like the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, the EXPLORE Act, and the Legacy Restoration Fund, which is moving through Congress right now and is one of the most important places listeners can weigh in today.

We also get into Adam's pragmatic, calm approach to all of this—why he refuses to be hysterical even when the stakes are high, what he's learned about strategy and compassion across the table, and how everyday people with jobs and families can stay informed and actually take action without drowning in the noise. He closes with some great book recommendations and a reminder to embrace and bask in the joy of place.

And just for some context, we recorded this on June 22, 2026. I hope you enjoy it and learn as much as I did. And most importantly, I hope you'll TAKE ACTION!

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Adam Cramer
Outdoor Alliance (Scroll down on the home page to sign up for their email list.)
Adam's first M&P episode
Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/public-lands-update/

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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship.

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

0:00 - Introducing Adam Cramer and highlighting the Well Done Foundation
6:05 - Outdoor Alliance reminder
10:02 - One Big Beautiful Bill post-mortem
14:18 - The Roadless Rule
17:47 - What's the point of rescission?
19:51 - Following the herd
20:01 - Deferred maintenance
22:47 - Taking action: Roadless Rule
25:24 - Forest Service moves West
31:18 - A plethora of land types
33:34 - Just trying to protect the land
35:29 - BLM Public Lands Rule
39:36 - Swings
43:06 - Staying calm (alert: a jiu jitsu reference)
49:42 - Legacy Restoration Fund
56:08 - How to stay informed
58:54 - Motorized use
1:04:30 - Book recs
1:05:54 - Parting words

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