Appalachian Mountain Club Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education BFA Environmental Children and Nature Network Coconino

ino Rural Environment Corps Conservation Alliance Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa Cottonwood Gulch Foundation Grand Staircase Escalante Partners Islandwood School Izaak Walton League of America Limitless Vistas Montana Conservation Corps Northwest Youth Corps Outdoor Industry Association Prescott College Public Lands Service Coalition Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (Colorado) Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (New Mexico) Sierra Club Southwest Conservation Corps Student Conservation Association Tamarisk Coalition TEENS, Inc. The Corps Network The Mountaineers The Wilderness Society Washington Trails Association October 15, 2013 The Honorable Doc Hastings, Chairman House Natural Resources Committee 1324 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Peter DeFazio, Ranking Member House Natural Resources Committee 1329 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Defazio: The undersigned organizations and their members represent a broad cross section of users of federal public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. The programs and activities we provide make a significant contribution to the $646 billion outdoor recreation economy. We write today to urge you to pass legislation to fund the government, end the shutdown and allow America's public lands to reopen for public use. Our organizations fall into several broad categories: We are university, military and community recreation programs and their staff. We provide students, military families and local citizens with opportunities to experience the outdoors through guided recreation activities. Our programs serve more than 1.5 million participants each year. Because of the shutdown and closure of federal lands, our best classroom has been closed, and many of our programs have been cancelled. We are conservation and service corps that provide young people and veterans with jobs and service opportunities to complete priority conservation projects on our public lands and waters. We build and maintain recreation trails, construct recreation facilities, restore wildlife habitat and protect communities from wildfire. Our work helps the agencies fulfill their land management responsibilities, often at a fraction of the cost of alternative methods. We have currently furloughed over 1,000 people due to the government shutdown. We are experiential and environmental education providers that provide young people with the opportunity to connect to the outdoors through recreation, while at the same time developing valuable life skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, risk

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management and conflict resolution. The shutdown and resulting closure of federal lands has forced us to cancel programs or find alternative venues at the last minute. We are small business owners, U.S. manufacturers and global retailers that contribute $646 billion to the United States economy in direct consumer spending and employ 6.1 million Americans. We rely on public lands, and adequate access and infrastructure on these lands, in order support the growth and success of our industry and to serve our 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives, retailers and their consumers in the outdoor lifestyle. We are state and regional recreation organizations that provide American citizens with opportunities to participate in outdoor recreation activities in a safe and supportive environment. We teach hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, paddling, skiing and snowshoeing skills to thousands of people each year, many of them from underserved urban communities with no previous connection to the outdoors. The shutdown has forced us to cancel many of our programs. We are statewide trail organizations that provide both recreation opportunities and volunteer-driven trail maintenance services on federal lands and waters. Our volunteers and crew leaders clear trails of deadfall, restore tread, maintain drainage structures, and provide a range of other services that cash-strapped agencies are unable to provide. However, we cannot do this work without active, regular cooperation from our agency partners. We are state and national conservation organizations that work to protect wild lands and connect people to these special places. We believe that public lands are a unique and valuable American legacy that should be available for people to enjoy.

The October 1, 2013 government shutdown represents another in a series of setbacks our programs and activities have suffered due to shrinking or nonexistent agency budgets. These problems began when budgets were slashed in 2011, grew dramatically worse in the spring of 2013 when the sequester went into effect, and have now reached catastrophic proportions due to the shutdown. Our programs, which wholly exist to serve the American people or grow the American economy, have been adversely affected even in situations where no physical barrier to entry has been put into place. We rely not only on the landscapes themselves but on the collaborative management and protection of those vital resources provided by federal agencies. Our programs depend on agency personnel to issue permits, assist with program planning and facilities maintenance, and in some instances, jointly conduct search and rescue activities as well as fire mitigation. When federal agency resources are not available, we cannot safely and effectively conduct our programs on federal lands. Furthermore, it would do no good for Congress to reopen some lands and not others. Our programs and activities take place on lands managed by all four land management agencies. In some cases, a single program will use land managed by multiple agencies. Thus reopening some

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lands would not solve the problems caused by the sequester and government shutdown. Most programs would still be forced to cancel or find alternative destinations. For these reasons, we urge Congress to resolve its differences and immediately provide the funding needed to restore government operations and reopen federal lands for public use. Thank you for the opportunity to submit our views on this important national issue. Sincerely, Appalachian Mountain Club Boston, MA BFA Environmental Orlando, FL Coconino Rural Environment Corps Flagstaff, AZ Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa Maplewood, MN Grand Staircase Escalante Partners Kanab, UT Izaak Walton League of America Gaithersburg, MD Montana Conservation Corps Bozeman, MT Outdoor Industry Association Boulder, CO Public Lands Service Coalition Washington, DC Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (New Mexico) Ranchos de Taos, NM Southwest Conservation Corps Durango, CO Tamarisk Coalition Grand Junction, CO Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education Ann Arbor, MI Children and Nature Network San Diego, CA Conservation Alliance Bend, OR Cottonwood Gulch Foundation Albuquerque, NM Islandwood School Bainbridge Island, WA Limitless Vistas New Orleans, LA Northwest Youth Corps Eugene, OR Prescott College Prescott, AZ Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (Colorado) Steamboat Springs, CO Sierra Club Washington, DC Student Conservation Association Arlington, VA TEENS, Inc. Nederland, CO

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The Corps Network Washington, DC The Wilderness Society Washington, DC

The Mountaineers Seattle, WA Washington Trails Association Seattle, WA

Cc: The Honorable Darrell Issa, Chairman Oversight and Government Reform Committee, U.S. House of Representatives. The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member Oversight and Government Reform Committee, U.S. House of Representatives. Committee Members Natural Resources Committee, U.S. House of Representatives Committee Members Oversight and Government Reform Committee, U.S. House of Representatives. The Honorable Harry Reid Majority Leader, U.S. Senate The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader, U.S. Senate The Honorable John A. Boehner Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives