Outdoor Alliance announces third cohort of Grasstops Collective advocates
Washington, D.C. (March 2, 2026) — Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of outdoor recreation groups working together to protect public lands, announced the selection of its third Grasstops Collective cohort made up of 21 advocates, representing 16 congressional districts and 10 states. Grasstops Collective is a leadership and advocacy development program that trains grasstops leaders to build relationships with policymakers and advocate for conservation priorities.
The Grasstops Collective program continues to build momentum through harnessing the power of community leaders building relationships with their members of congress in order to help protect public lands. In 2025, the 39 trained Grasstops Collective advocates engaged their lawmakers on over 30 policies, moving the needle on attempted public land sell offs, Legacy Restoration Fund reauthorization, land and water legislation affecting their local areas, among other conservation priorities.
“This year’s cohort comes from across the country, with a variety of backgrounds, outdoor recreation pursuits, and leadership roles. They each bring their local perspective to positively inform conservation, recreation, and climate policy at a national level with local authenticity,” said Taylor Rogers, Outdoor Alliance’s Grasstops Advocacy Director. “The meaningful relationships built between the advocates and policymakers enable the protection of more places, the ability to pass better conservation and recreation policy, and fund public lands and waters.”
Since the program’s inception in 2024, cohort members have represented 40 congressional districts and 19 states. New states added to the program this year that weren’t represented in previous years include Alaska, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Grasstops advocates are leaders in their community who believe in Outdoor Alliance’s mission work and are genuinely excited to share their local perspectives with their members of Congress. With training and resources from Outdoor Alliance, advocates become a trusted resource for policymakers, providing perspective, input, and guidance that is both representative of their local outdoor recreation community, and in furtherance of Outdoor Alliance’s mission work and national policy goals.
The program includes five months of training, starting with a June kick off retreat. In September, advocates will travel to D.C. for a fly-in to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and participate in an in-person training. The program wraps up in October with a final training and graduation.
Once trained, the advocates continue to receive ongoing support and resources from Outdoor Alliance and its networks so that they can continue to build relationships with their policymakers and become lifelong advocates for conservation and recreation policy.
“I’m stoked to be a part of this cohort to learn more about effectively communicating our regional needs to decision makers. It’s an honor to be a part of the momentum of this group and for West Virginia as outdoor economies grow through conservation stewardship,” said Charles Evans, 2026 Grasstops Collective cohort member and Backcountry Coordinator for SHARC based in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
For more information about the 2026 Grasstops Collective cohort check out our website here. For information about the 2024 cohort here and 2025 cohort here.
About Outdoor Alliance
Outdoor Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of organizations that includes American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, The Mountaineers, American Alpine Club, the Mazamas, Colorado Mountain Club, and Surfrider Foundation. For more than ten years, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. Our work has helped to permanently protect 40 million acres of public land, secure $5.1 billion in funding for the outdoors, and convert more than 100,000 outdoor enthusiasts into outdoor advocates. For more information, visit www.outdooralliance.org