Love from under solen

I saw a post from a friend on Facebook as the news spread of Steve Jobs’ death and all that it said was “iSad”.  This simple and clever post made me laugh while the rest of the world was/is mourning the passing of an exceptional thinker. From this laughter came deep gratitude for all of the people that are in our lives and who fill it consistently with smiles, hope and grace.

I will borrow Steve Jobs words and Rihanna’s song (to be played extremely loud — don’t be ashamed) as we raise our glasses to YOU as we venture into another beautiful weekend:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… you can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”  — Steve Jobs

Thank you to the brands who carefully select and build products that truly stand for something and better our world in some small or large way. Cheers to the musicians and filmmakers who bare their soul each and every time a microphone or camera covers their face. Thank you to the non-profits who exist out of pure passion for something that needs to be believed in. Cheers to the silent leaders that fill our world, I trust that your voices will be heard in those times of need.

We honor and send high fives out to you ALL!  HAPPY FRIDAY and we hope that you ROCK OUT HARD THIS WEEKEND!

Kick-ass photo of Spirit Falls on the Little White Salmon River. © Erik Boomer

When you’re constantly working with a bunch of crazy cool adventurers and causes, how can you not be inspired to get out and explore?

So, we thought we’d take this week to highlight a couple of groups that exemplify the phrase “work hard, play harder.”

The Epicocity Project is best known for traveling to the most remote rivers on the planet and executing first descents down these biologically rich and endangered waterways. They bring their stories home, producing adventure media to inspire people to take action.

This week in celebration of World Water Day, Epicocity’s Andy Maser took a look at rivers in his own backyard in the Northwest.

From Andy’s Dagger Kayaks blog:

As paddlers, we have a special connection to the rivers, lakes and streams where we all love to play. We anxiously await spring runoff and consistent winter storms to fill our favorite streams with the fresh water that allows us to do what we love — get outdoors and go for a paddle…

So today, when the world is focused on our freshwater resources, let’s all take some time to think about our favorite river. Is it clean and healthy? My favorite river, the Little White Salmon River in Washington, is abnormally low because of a dismal snowpack. But it’s running for now, and I’m taking today to celebrate the fact that I’m able to paddle its cool waters.

I caught up with Andy, who said:

Looking at the meager flows in our rivers this season, it’s a good reminder that we should take every day to celebrate and protect our water and our rivers. We come to the river to be challenged, motivated and to play. We’ve made protecting the world’s waterways our life’s work, so while World Water Day gave us a day to celebrate, we’re going to go ahead and extend our appreciation to rivers every single day of the year. We’ll never stop celebrating, we’ll never stop exploring and we’ll never stop protecting our rivers.

ConservationNEXT is a community of people committed to protecting North America’s wild places. It’s the outreach arm of The Conservation Alliance, an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots conservation organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have helped to protect more than 49 million acres of land, stop or remove 27 dams, and preserve access to thousands of miles of rivers and several climbing areas.

But last week, their mission was to protect just one place — the Ventura River and Surfers Point Beach — in the year’s first Backyard Collective. The Backyard Collective is a roving volunteer event that brings together outdoor industry employees and Alliance grantees for a day of hands on environmental stewardship.

In one afternoon, more than 100 volunteers from Patagonia, Deckers outdoor and Horny Toad removed nearly 4 tons of trash from Ventura River and beach

Deanna Lloyd – ConservationNEXT board member said:

The Backyard Collectives are a great way to bring outdoor industry companies together to help with an environmental service project in their own backyard. And these types of events can make a huge difference. This group of volunteers made a significant contribution to the overall maintenance and beauty of this area.”

ConservationNEXT provides people with opportunities to take online action in support of conservation. The Backyard Collective moves that action to the field, and helps people get their hands dirty in their own communities. Learn more Backyard Collectives coming to your neck of the woods!

As people in the outdoor community, we have a responsibility to protect the wild places we all love to explore. I hope these stories inspired you to keep working hard… And to get out and play even harder!

Happy Friday!

"Everything... in the photograph -- trees, bushes, all the animals and plants in the forest and the water -- contains ocean nutrients from salmon." -- Carl Safina in the LA Times. © Save Our Wild Salmon

We live in an amazing place and nothing quite drives that point home like working with people who are passionate about their causes — be they businesses, advocates or adventurers. So, we’re excited to throw our weight behind a couple of great causes: saving Snake River salmon and the Flathead. Keep reading to see what’s happening, and how you can help!

Save Our Wild Salmon has been fighting to recover Snake River salmon for two decades. Snake River salmon Snake River salmon return to the biggest, highest, coldest, best-protected spawning habitat left in the Lower 48. In the last 6 months, tens of thousands of people across the country, nearly 100 members of Congress, three former Northwest governors, hundreds of local and national businesses, thousands of scientists from around the country have called on the Obama administration to end the legal and political deadlock to save wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest. And on Sunday, writer and founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, Carl Safina voiced his opinion in the Los Angeles Times:

Two months ago, in a swift trick no one saw coming, the Obama administration embraced the Bush administration’s failed salmon plan for an even more important watershed, the Columbia/Snake River system. The Columbia and its tributaries formerly produced more salmon than anywhere else on Earth, but the once-mighty rivers now have 13 salmon stocks in danger of extinction…

The fundamental problem with the plan is that its goal seems to be to maintain endangered salmon in an endangered state rather than revitalizing them. The administration appears unmotivated to restore salmon abundance and their role in the ecology and economy. Here’s what gives the administration’s game away: The one salmon species that is already at levels low enough to trigger additional action in the new plan has been exempted from the new triggers.

Jane Lubchenco, the administration’s point person for oceans and salmon, insists that “the actions in the plan will prevent further declines.” But keeping salmon in a coma and on life support does not heal them, nor help the other species, including people, that depend on them. The likeliest outcome of a salmon strategy based on just avoiding extinction will be extinction — and not only of salmon…

"Star" -- Puget Sound's most recent addition to it's resident Orca whale population. © Howard Garrett

There’s another photograph I saw recently. Taken just two months ago where Puget Sound meets the Pacific, it shows a new orca calf emerging from the water atop its mother’s back. The scientists from the Center for Whale Research who track orcas named her Star, hoping she will guide another seemingly intelligent mammal — us — to restore the salmon abundance she will need to become a mother herself 13 years from now. May she inspire the Obama administration to think again.

Read the rest of Safina’s op-ed at the LA Times…

Take action to save Snake River salmon here!

©Garth Lenz, iLCP

Miles of free-flowing river, sky-scraping jagged peaks and abundant wildlife make the Flathead River Valley one of the most wild and beautiful places on earth. But unfortunately, diversity and a natural aesthetic don’t always ensure protection. Proposed mountaintop removal mining in southeastern British Columbia, Canada is threatening the Flathead. Earlier this month, we wrote about the Epicocity Project’s new film, Flathead Wild.

Along with the film, people can really get a sense of place by viewing the gorgeous photos from the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). Visit Planet Green for a slideshow that will make almost anyone want to protect the Flathead!

Want to do more? Watch the video, and pass it along to your friends. And take action HERE!