The Jeep® brand has a long tradition of supporting conservation and being champions of the environment. The beauty of nature is, after all, a large part of what makes off-roading so enjoyable. That’s why we’re so proud to partner with Access Fund, and to lend our support to the Conservation Team in their effort to protect climbing access and the integrity of America’s outdoor climbing areas.
The Access Fund – Jeep Conservation Team is made up of a crew of two, husband and wife Mike and Amanda. They’re expert trail builders who travel the country in a Trail Rated® 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk®, helping local climbing communities create and execute on sustainable stewardship and conservation plans in their communities.
We sat down with Mike and Amanda to ask them how things are going on the trail. Here’s what they had to share.
Tell us about the Access Fund – Jeep Conservation Team — What is your overall mission?
The Access Fund – Jeep Conservation Team is a pair of conservation specialists who travel the country 10 months out of the year. We’ve been on the road since the beginning of 2014, but the program began in 2011. We work with land managers and local volunteers to lend a hand in the care and preservation of U.S. climbing areas. We accomplish this through on-the-ground work, leading volunteers and teaching them the finer points of sustainable trail construction. We also meet with public land managers and private landowners to discuss and plan for larger-scale projects to mitigate climber impacts on the land. We also frequently visit climbing gyms and events to get the word out about our work and raise awareness of ways climbers can minimize their impacts and be better stewards of the land.
What does a typical day (if there is such a thing) look like for you?
In our world, “typical” is seldom a word that comes out of our mouths, but that’s one reason we love our job! In general we divide our time between working in the field, catching some WiFi at a local coffee shop, getting a few climbs in at the climbing area that we’re visiting, and planning for upcoming projects. We spend a lot of time outdoors. In fact at last tally we’ve camped 150 nights this year. That might be the most typical thing in our life: We have a great system for living out of our Jeep vehicle and camping in our tent.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in conservation and trail-building?
One of the biggest challenges we face is getting our arms wrapped around the impressive backlog of work that is sitting in front of us. Many of the most popular climbing areas in our country have seen visitation since the early to mid 1900s. Undeniably those early visitors had little cumulative impact, as there just weren’t that many of them. But the number of climbers has been growing steadily ever since, and we’ve seen a huge boom in our numbers in past 10 years or so. With all this growth, there really hasn’t been much done up until this point to address the impacts that the increasing numbers of feet on the ground has caused. There are examples of areas where local communities and land managers have been proactive in addressing and preventing impacts, but the majority of areas have never seen organized efforts to tackle issues like soil erosion, which is probably the most frequent concern we see at climbing areas.
What do you find most rewarding about being part of the Access Fund – Jeep Conservation Team?
Working with incredibly passionate and dedicated volunteers! Whether it’s a group that has formed what we call a Local Climbing Organization, or individuals that are simply passionate about the areas where they climb, local volunteers are what make it all happen and are frequently the people that get the ball rolling in terms of organization and coordinating the projects that we lead.
Tell us about yourselves — How did you first get into conservation and climbing? Has this been a lifelong interest?
Conservation work has been a lifelong interest for both of us. We were both lucky to have parents and relatives that exposed us to the outdoors at an early age. Mike previously worked as a park ranger and Amanda worked in environmental education. We both started climbing in our mid-20s (we’re both 34 now). Mike was introduced to the sport in Acadia National Park while living in Maine, but fell in love with the activity when he moved to Colorado after college. Amanda had her first experience climbing at a Denver climbing gym in high school, but it wasn’t until she got to try climbing outside that she really got hooked. Climbing has really shaped our lives, both personally and professionally, and has taken us to unforgettable places. We’re really lucky that we now get to combine our passion for conservation, education, travel and climbing into a job and lifestyle that encompasses it all!
What kind of Jeep vehicle do you drive, and how does it help you in your conservation efforts?
We travel the country in a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 4×4. We honestly can’t imagine doing our job without this vehicle. It’s proven to be the most valuable tool we have in our tool cache, and we appreciate it equally for being rugged as well as comfortable. It tows our trailer FULL of trail building tools and other supplies around the country. We’re currently on our second trip around the U.S., and have been really impressed with the way it tows and the access it gives us to some pretty gnarly places. The Cherokee is a Boss. It’s even serves as an anchor point for a cable high-line system that we use to move large stones through the air when we’re working on steep slopes. The Cherokee is also our home and office, and we love how comfortable it is, especially when we’re driving 8-12 hours in a day to get to the next project. It has features like heated seats and steering wheel*, USB charging ports, thoughtful storage, fold-down-flat backseats, and SiriusXM® Satellite Radio† that help keep us cozy, organized, and connected while we’re working on the road. We’ve found that the Cherokee is also quite efficient
How many miles have you travelled in your Jeep vehicle, and how many of those miles would you estimate have been “off-road”?
We’ve covered roughly 60,000 miles in our Jeep Cherokee. Many of those miles have been logged on state and U.S. highways as we travel to and from our projects, but once we’re in the area where we’re working for the week, we do a fair bit of off-road travel. Whether were getting into the spot where we’ll be working or simply exploring a more remote climbing area, our Jeep Cherokee gets off-road on a weekly basis. The exact number of miles is hard to estimate, but off-road access is critical to getting our work done and we couldn’t do our job without the off-road capability that our Jeep Cherokee provides.
Where’s your favorite place to climb, and where’s the most beautiful place you’ve visited?
This is a really difficult question to answer. We have seen so many beautiful places throughout our travels, and are still discovering places in every corner of the country that take our breath away. There are places we love because of the scenery, the rock quality, the nature of the climbing, or simply the community we have come to know there. We are always drawn to Joshua Tree National Park, but we have favorite climbing areas throughout the country.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to climbers, off-road 4×4 enthusiasts or the public in general about conservation?
Stay on the trail, minimize your impact, and be a role model for others to do the same. Also, take some time to give back to the places where you enjoy playing each year. It’s incredibly rewarding to get involved in stewardship-related volunteerism, and many hands make for light(er) work when it comes to conservation projects.
How can the public get involved and support your cause?
The Access Fund is a national non-profit and we rely on the generosity of members, private donors, and corporate partners, like Jeep Brand/FCA US LLC, to accomplish what we do. Anyone interested in contributing to our efforts can do so through our website at accessfund.org/join-or-give. We’d also encourage anyone reading this to consider joining us at a trail day when we’re in their area. You can find out where we’ll be working via the Access Fund online calendar, by signing up for the Access Fund email list, or by following the Conservation Team on Facebook.
Learn more about climbing, trail-building and conservation at accessfund.org, and check out this 2014 Access Fund – Jeep Conservation Team: Life on the Road video.
*Optional features.
†SiriusXM services require subscriptions, sold separately after 12-month trial included with vehicle purchase. See our Customer Agreement for complete terms at www.siriusxm.com. If you decide to continue your Sirius services at the end of your trial subscription, the plan you choose will automatically renew and bill at then-current rates until you call SiriusXM at 1-866-635-2349 to cancel. Trail service is not transferable or refundable. See SiriusXM customer agreement for complete terms at www.siriusxm.com Programming subject to change. SiriusXM satellite service available only to those at least 18 and older in the 48 contiguous USA, D.C., and PR (with coverage limitations). Traffic information not available in all markets. SiriusXM internet radio service is available throughout our satellite service area and in AK and HI.