Ventana Wilderness Alliance
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November 13, 2012
I've been impressed with everything the VWA does right from my first contact with them five years ago. They focus on specific wilderness issues, like ensuring access to backcountry through maintenance of remote trail-systems and helping to broker the designation of more lands as wilderness. They also have the Youth in Wilderness program to introduce the next generation of potential conservationists to the beauty of the Ventanas. I believe that they are so successful at what they do because the staff and volunteers are remarkably knowledgeable and dedicated. Although, I have had to cut back on the number of organizations to which I donate (the recession has set me back a bit), I still give to the VWA, because they manage to accomplish so much with so little and their work is always first rate.
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When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
November 13, 2012
Fighting for wilderness is one of the most important things we can do for future generations. Maintaining the wilderness characteristics of a place is difficult work. The Ventana Wilderness Alliance has the wisdom, passion and organization necessary to ensure that the spectacular public lands of the Big Sur backcountry remain wild and untrammelled by man. These people have read the Wilderness Act of 1964. They get it. They know how important public lands are ... especially a chunk of wilderness surrounded by millions of Californians. The VWA rallies volunteers to restore and maintain the trail network. And let me tell you ... this is some rough country. Lord I've seen fire and I've seen rain. And so has the Santa Lucia range. This is as tough a place to hike as there is in the lower 48. But the VWA volunteers help ensure access to the backcountry so that people can recreate, enjoy solitude and the wonders of nature. The VWA also has a program to get volunteer stewards into the backcountry where they can inform and educate the visiting public about fire safety and Leave-No-Trace ethics. They lead groups of kids from places like Salinas and Monterey and San Luis Obispo into the wilderness so that the kids can value public lands and learn to become protectors of the place as well. I could go on and on about the good things this nonprofit does. But I'd like to get to the point ... please donate to the VWA. Your gift or membership will keep the good fight moving forward. Maybe some day it won't be a fight. Maybe some day the people will get it ... like the VWA does today. Please give generously to this organization.
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Definitely
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
1 person found this review helpful
November 13, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
The Ventana Wilderness Alliance has an amazing track record of success in everything they do -- from organizing trail crews, to getting kids into the great outdoors, to organizing work projects out in the field, and to advocating for the protection of wilderness lands throughout the Santa Lucia Range. They do it all with grace, finesse, and an eye towards getting the biggest bang for the buck. If you care about Big Sur, the Ventana Wilderness, and the Santa Lucia Mountains, the bottom line is that you should support this group in any way that you can. Donate money, volunteer, and get involved. You'll be glad you did, and this little corner of the wild California landscape will be better for it.
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Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
Definitely
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
1 person found this review helpful
November 13, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
Due to budget restraints within the US Forest Service, the northern section of Los Padres National Forest is severely undermanaged. Were it not for the fleets of VWA-coordinated volunteers, most trails would be nonexisitent. The VWA introduces young people to the outdoors (many of whom might otherwise never leave nearby city limits), maintains a vibrant website with interactive trail conditions reports, sends volunteer stewards out to inventory and clean up camps and teach visitors about Leave No Trace principles, and has even been known to clean up abandoned marijuana growsites and squatter encampments. VWA's wilderness advocacy programs have resulted in thousands of additional acres of federally designated Wilderness additions. For those of us who wish to experience the wild Big Sur backcountry behind the thin veneer of State Parks along highway 1, we could have no greater ally than the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.
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How does this organization compare with others in the same sector?
Very Well
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
Will you recommend this organization to others?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
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