Salt Lake City, Utah – Tread Lightly!, the leading national nonprofit promoting responsible outdoor recreation, announced a major new initiative funding 25 Restoration for Recreation projects during a 25th anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C. Tread Lightly! board members, staff, partners and friends gathered for the special event in the beautiful Gold Room in the Rayburn Office Building on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Rob Bishop, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Natural Resources, delivered a keynote presentation during the event.
“In order to keep the balance between a healthy environment and exceptional opportunities to experience it, education and stewardship are key,” Congressman Bishop said. “Tread Lightly! has been perfecting unique methods of engaging visitors in education and stewardship for 25 years.”
Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze also joined the 25th anniversary ceremony.
“Each year, BLM-administered lands and waters receive about 61 million recreation visits,” said Director Kornze. “Tread Lightly!’s work to promote outdoor ethics, education and stewardship helps to keep these visitors safe while keeping public lands healthy and productive. Congratulations to the organization for reaching the quarter-century mark and for its great work.”
Tread Lightly! began as a public awareness program by the U.S. Forest Service in the mid-1980s to address a national need for promoting responsible recreation through ethics education and stewardship initiatives. This became—and is still today—Tread Lightly!’s mission.
In October 1990, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the Tread Lightly! 501 (c) (3) foundation was formed to encourage more public-private collaboration.
The new program announced at the event, nicknamed “25-for-25”, will provide funding to support 25 Restoration for Recreation projects across the country in celebration of Tread Lightly!’s 25th anniversary. The 25-for-25 program is made possible thanks to a consortium of partners including the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative, Federal Premium Ammunition, Bushnell and Dallas Safari Club.
“Tread Lightly!’s Restoration for Recreation program, including our new 25-for-25 initiative, hits at the heart of our mission of fostering good stewards and echoes back the original reasons the organization was created—cutting the red tape and funding important programs like these through the private sector,” said Lori McCullough, Tread Lightly!’s executive director.
“A truly committed steward models responsible behavior, mentors to others, and mends the public land when needed, which means individuals are engaged with their hands while socially responsible corporations address the critical needs of their core customers and the general public,” McCullough said. “Tread Lightly! thanks our great partners that supported the 25th anniversary event: Polaris, Toyota, Discount Tire, Land Rover, Falken Tire, Yamaha, Noble Energy and Vista Outdoor.”
Together, the 25-for-25 program partners will fund 25 projects aimed at creating a significant, positive and lasting impact on outdoor recreation across the U.S. The program’s goals include promoting citizen stewardship and engaging volunteers in hands-on projects to help keep the great outdoors beautiful, healthy and open for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy.
For more information about Tread Lightly! and the 25-for-25 program, visit www.treadlightly.org.
To become a Tread Lightly! member, go to http://jointreadlightly.org.
