WTA on Climate Change

We must act together on climate change.

As a community of hikers and people who love the outdoors, we know that Washington’s natural landscapes and trails are part of what makes our state extraordinary. We are also seeing firsthand how trails and public lands are facing an unprecedented, existential threat from climate change. Supersized wildfires, unprecedented floods and record temperatures are wreaking havoc on landscapes, communities, wildlife and trails. 

Climate change is here, and we must act now, and work together, to ensure that the public lands we love and rely on can continue to be enjoyed and appreciated by generations to come. As an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving trails and public lands in Washington, we believe that WTA has a role to play in the fight against climate change, and we are committed to working on it both now and over the long term.   

WTA's work at every level, from policy to trail crews working in burns, will need to be part of building a more resilient public lands infrastructure. Photo of a WTA trail crew working in a former burn in the Entiat River area by Jess Dupuy.

In recent years, fire and weather events that were once record-breaking have become routine. These impacts are being felt in every corner of our state: increasingly fire-ravaged backcountry landscapes; roads and trails cut off by mudslides; low-lying communities and infrastructure hit by floods; and wildfire smoke bringing unhealthy air quality to entire regions. It is not hyperbole to say that climate change is the most significant threat that we will face in our lifetime.

The devastating effects of climate change reach far beyond our trails and public lands and impact the lives of millions of people as well, particularly communities that have been historically marginalized. Urban areas with limited access to green spaces are at increased risk of flooding and heat waves. Droughts, floods and wildfires have the potential not only to destroy millions of acres of natural habitats but also to displace millions of people, disrupt livelihoods and expose already vulnerable communities to more severe insecurity. 

All creatures, people and pikas both, depend on action. Pika photo by Tomas Loostrom

Accelerated and coordinated climate action is urgently needed if we are to ensure Washington has trails for everyone, forever. The science is clear. We must act now. All who live and rely on the land, from the people to the pikas, to the landscapes themselves, are counting on us. 

Washington Trails Association’s primary objective is to protect and advocate for Washington’s trails and public lands and to connect hikers with opportunities to give back to trails. This means that WTA has, and will continue to have, a role to play in helping to ensure our trails and public lands are resilient. We must work with the broader outdoor community to reduce the effects of climate change — particularly for the most vulnerable people and places.  

Some of the ways we are already doing this include:

Pushing for increased funding and policy solutions for public lands to ensure that Washington’s forests are healthy and can mitigate climate impacts;

• Advocating for greater investment in and protection of accessible greenspaces and urban forests— particularly in neighborhoods with limited access to the outdoors — that serve as carbon sinks and offer respite for communities during summer heat waves;
• Expanding our capacity to support technical backcountry trail maintenance for wildfire damaged areas, which helps restore access, facilitate future fire response and maintain resilience of our state’s wild landscapes;
• Connecting thousands of hikers with opportunities to give back to trails through volunteer trail maintenance restoring much-loved trails and supplementing capacity for land managers and public agencies;
• Promoting transportation alternatives, including public transit to trailheads, as a way to reduce the carbon footprint associated with recreating outdoors and give more communities cleaner ways to enjoy the benefits of time in nature;
• Implementing internal practices to reduce our direct organizational carbon footprint, including offering free public transit cards to all Seattle office staff to reduce the numbers of vehicles on the road.

WTA is a community that believes in the transformative power of nature and the collective power of hikers. By coming together in support of climate solutions and speaking out on behalf of trails and public lands we can advocate for governments to support the systematic changes that are needed to prevent catastrophic consequences. Climate change is the most complex, wide-reaching threat humanity has ever faced. Addressing it will require all of us working together to implement solutions that already exist and to create new ones. WTA is committed to playing our part and helping ensure that Washington’s trails, and the communities that rely on them, will be here for generations to come. 

A member of the WTA Lost Trails Found trail crew cleared fallen logs and repaired trails after a wildfire burned portions of the Cow Creek Trail. Photo by Ginevra Moore in 2021.

There are many other organizations working to address climate change from other perspectives. Below we have included links to organizations working for climate solutions and resources for how you can take action to create a climate-friendly future for people, the planet and trails. Join us in being part of the journey to a more climate resilient future. 

Organizations working on climate solutions

• Climate Solutions
• Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS)
• Front and Centered
• Got Green
• Puget Sound Sage
• Sierra Club
• Washington Conservation Action

Other trail organizations committed to working on climate

• Mountaineers
• American Hiking Society
• Pacific Crest Trails Association

Individual actions you can take

• EPA: What You Can Do About Climate Change
• NPR: Resources On Climate Change
• Wired: Take Action Against Climate Change With These Tools and Resources

Additional Resources

• How climate change will impact recreation in the Pacific Northwest
• Outdoor Alliance unveils playbook to expand outdoor recreation while fighting climate change

• Climate Change and Recreation on Public Lands in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington