my mountains advocacy work is focused on — protecting mountain regions of the world promoting...
TRANSCRIPT
My Mountains Advocacy work is focused on —
• Protecting Mountain Regions of the World
• Promoting Parks and other Protected Areas
• Creating Opportunities for Recreationists like climbers, mountaineers, and other user groups to be effective Mountain Protectors
• Helping Lad Managers to effectively protect Mountain Regions with all mountain interest groups
Publications I have contributed to or have co-edited
The Historic Role of Mountaineers and Climbers — Leaders of Mountain
Protection
Linda McMillan
Business Consultant &
Mountains Advocate
Climbing is a universal part of human development around the world. It has always been a way for humans to test their strengths — both physical and mental.
Climbing is a way we explore our world. So in reality, we are all climbers. It’s a pity that some people have forgotten how much fun it is.
Those who pursue rock climbing and mountaineering as a sport often develop intense connections to the vertical landscapes they enjoy.
The mountains give us freedom from civilized, urbanized life. They re-connect us powerfully to the spectacular natural world. They enrich our lives.
For many mountaineers and climbers, the mountains become an important part of our lives and a strong part of our identity. Mountains become part of who we are as people. So when we see mountains threatened or degraded, we feel threatened or degraded too. We want to do something to protect this cherished part of who we are.
We want to take action, and start looking for ways to find a route to mountain protection success.
Mountaineers and climbers have a long tradition of speaking out for mountain protection, and are often very effective. They are passionate and committed to their cause, and are willing to use all means possible to persuade others. They will work tirelessly for many years, even for a lifetime, to protect the mountains they love.
They know that even the highest peaks of the world can be climbed if you just keep going, step by difficult step, to the top. They don’t give up. They just keep going.
And they are often very effective in inspiring others to join their cause. Like recruiting members for a climbing expedition, they know how to persuade action and commitment by others to support their quest to protect the mountains they love.
Here are some examples of the historic roles of mountaineers and climbers from around the world as outstanding Mountain Protectors
John Muir – A True Innovator: Yosemite’s first “Climbing Bum” and a Citizen Scientist– 1860s
The Scottish mountaineer and climber John Muir arrived in San Francisco in late March 1868. That spring he walked 200 miles from San Francisco to the place that would become his spiritual home--California's spectacular Yosemite Valley. This remote valley, with its dramatic granite cliffs and majestic waterfalls, touched Muir deeply and he found it difficult to leave. He spent most of his time climbing and hiking there to find proof of his radical new idea that Yosemite Valley was carved by the movement of ancient glaciers across the granite landscape.
He also started writing about the beauty of Yosemite and convinced the world of the special value of this special mountain place.
John Muir – The Great Communicator: He was the Voice of theMountains
At that time, parts of Yosemite were already protected from development by the Yosemite Valley Grant Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War in 1864. That helped to protect the Giant Sequoia trees in the Yosemite region from being cut down for timber to construct houses.
John Muir lived in Yosemite Valley from 1868 until 1874 and wrote about the special beauty of the entire Yosemite region, with its dramatic vertical cliffs and waterfalls.
John Muir’s writings became so popular and famous around the world, he inspired the US President Theodore Roosevelt to travel cross-country to visit Yosemite Valley and meet with him in 1903. Muir convinced the President to give perpetual protection to Yosemite and other special places in America.
Theodore Roosevelt – The Great Political ForceTurning Protection Ideas into Reality When did people around the world start perceiving mountains and their cultures as being precious national treasures?
Who created that the idea of National Parks during the 20th century? John Muir certainly got it started, but Teddy Roosevelt was the master of putting it into action. During his presidency he created:
4 National Game Preserves 5 National Parks 7 Conservation Conferences 18 National Monuments 24 Reclamation Projects 51 Federal Bird Reservations 150 National Forests 230 Million total acres of public land set aside for the enjoyment of all people of the world
In the 21st century—Using the Power of Business to expand Mountain Protection worldwide
Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins – US mountaineers and businessmen
These two climbing friends and their families have used their success in business to create Conservación Patagónica, a conservation group whose mission is “to create national parks in Patagonia that save and restore wildlands and wildlife, inspire care for the natural world, and generate healthy economic opportunities for local communities.”
Reinhold Messner - Italian climber, Mountaineer and Member of the European Parliament
Reinhold is known for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and for being the first climber to ascend all fourteen "eight-thousanders" (peaks over 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) above sea level).
But in recent years he has been the driving force that gained UNESCO World Heritage status for the Dolomites, on the border of Italy and Austria.
Using the Power of Politics for Mountain Protection
And obviously Azerbaijan’s mountaineers and climbers are World-Class Mountain Protectors, as evidenced by the creation of so many impressive mountain protected areas. Congratulations on your excellent work and wisdom to protect and share your many outstanding natural and cultural mountain resources!
Visionary Nations protecting their special mountains - Azerbaijan
Now there is a new path to Mountain Protection created by
mountaineers and climbers around the world
A simple and effective way to promote sustainable mountain stewardship projects
In order to promote effective mountain protection worldwide, this year the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission has launched their new Mountain Protection Award for Stewardship. This new program was designed to allow groups of all sizes to submit their mountain protection projects for assessment and promotion by the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission on the new Mountain Protection Award website.
Each year, the most outstanding mountain stewardship project will be chosen to receive the Mountain Protection Award and cash prize. The goal is to encourage and empower a new generation of Mountain Protectors around the world.
The UIAA has created a new way to promote mountain protection worldwide
How can we engage all mountain stakeholders—old, young, user groups, cities, governments, business, land managers, recreationists like climbers and mountaineers, etc.— as long-term Mountain Protectors?
We can give them opportunities to help preserve and protect our natural and cultural mountain resources in ways that are meaningful and rewarding to them.
These opportunities help people to move along an emotional “path” from seeing themselves simply “mountain visitors” to being true Mountain Protectors, strongly connected to the mountains and willing to help to ensure their long-term protection.
Conclusion
The Path to Protected Areas Stewardship
Closing Question:
Our mountain world needs all of us to find our own special ways to preserve and protect it for future generations in the face of climate change and loss of biodiversity.
What can YOU do to protect mountains?
Postscript: Additional ideas for mountain protection
In Yosemite National Park each year, local climbers organize a day each year when climbers and other visitors of all ages, help to clean this national park. This gives people a chance to be Mountain Protectors, and helps to create new generations of motivated and knowledgeable mountain lovers. They are an especially important part of the future of the mountain protection.
Additional Mountain Protection Ideas to Consider - Annual Park Cleaning Events
The work of the many volunteers also saves the national park thousands of dollars each year in clean up costs. Money is also gained from recycling aluminum and other items.
In Yosemite National Park each year, climbers volunteer their skills to help park scientists discover and monitor plant and animal species in the park. Park scientists had never tried to assess the biodiversity on the very extensive vertical landscapes of the park, as they lacked the climbing skills.
In 2003, climbers from The American Alpine Club worked with park botanists to find out if the bright colored streaks on the dry rock face (during the dry season) of Vernal Fall in Yosemite Valley were caused by minerals in the water. They rappelled down the rock face with climbing ropes and gathered samples from the rock. They discovered that the colored streaks were not created by minerals, but by a colorful variety of lichens and moss! This helped to solve the mystery and enlarged the knowledge of the biodiversity of the park.
This is an excellent example of the value of combined science, sport, and tourism to create “citizen scientists” to help protect mountain regions.
Using Climbers as Citizen Scientists to Understand and Protect Mountain Regions
Another tool for mountain protection - Using free satellite imaging resources for
monitoring and protecting mountain landscapes
SATELLITE IMAGERY CONTACTS
Michael Abrams - ASTER Science Team Leader
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Pasadena, California
(818) 354-0937 FAX: (818) 354-0966
Contact him about ASTER
http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ Gary N. Geller, Ph.D.
Deputy Manager, NASA Ecological Forecasting Program
Conservation Liaison, ASTER Science Project
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, California
(818) 354-0133 FAX: (818) 393-1370
Contact him about: TerraLook—Satellite imagery to view a changing world
http://terralook.cr.usgs.gov
ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) is an imaging instrument flying on Terra, a satellite launched in December 1999 as part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS).
ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Japan's Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC). ASTER is being used to obtain detailed maps of land surface temperature, reflectance and elevation. ission Dir
The three EOS platforms are part of NASA's Science Mectorate and the , whose goal is to observe, understand, and model the Earth system to discover how it is changing, to better predict change, and to understand the consequences for life on Earth.
TerraLook expands and broadens the remote sensing user community by providing a free, user-selectable collection of satellite images, distributed as simulated natural color JPEG images.
The Historic Role of Mountaineers and Climbers — Leaders of Mountain
ProtectionLinda McMillan
LindaMcMillan.com
IUCN – The World Conservation Union
http://iucn.org