Colorado-based Weston Snowboards has announced that their Freedom of the Forests campaign will officially launch at the 2018 Outdoor Retailers Winter Market. This initiative is intended to benefit America’s public lands, as well as raise funding for our National Forests. Weston has joined forces with the National Forest Foundation to make it happen, and they are bringing some friends along for the ride, too. Industry heavy-hitters Black Diamond, Big Agnes, Thule, Vans, Zeal Optics and several others are all a part the campaign.
For their part, Weston has created an all new version of their popular Backwoods splitboard, which will now feature a grizzly bear graphic and the words “Freedom of the Forests.” I have to say, it’s a good looking topsheet! A percentage of board sales will be donated to the cause. Here’s a full run down with more details:
Statement from Weston Snowboards:
“For the last year we at Weston Snowboards have watched tragedies befall our National Forests, Parks and Monuments – from wildfires, to trail closures and park closures. These are the places that we play, where we snowboard, and where we go to find our little bit of peace and freedom. The root cause of these tragedies is that the U.S. Forest Service is underfunded to continue to preserve our lands. The Forest Service doesn’t have the necessary funds to build and maintain trails, remove garbage to keep our trails and watershed clean, or to mitigate wildfires. This predicament inspired our team of four at Weston to see if we could do something bigger than our brand could imagine. We don’t have the resources of big name brands, but we have a voice, and the path we want to pursue is unifying the people behind the forests and mountains we cherish, rather than drawing political battle lines.”
Those words come from Mason Davey, co-owner of Weston. The plan is to officially launch the campaign on January 25th in Denver, CO. The party is the first stage of a full winter tour, with each stop featuring National Forest Foundation speakers, drinks, movie screenings, and fundraising raffles.
The (sad) irony here is that this party would have kicked off somewhere in downtown SLC, had the leadership in Utah not thumbed their nose at the OR crowd. But fear not; if you want to learn more about the cause, there will be a tour stop in Park City later this year. Below is the full list of dates and cities.
Freedom of the Forest Tour Stops:
Feb. 9-11 – Winter Park, CO
Feb. 16-18 – Aspen, CO
Feb. 23-25 – Steamboat, CO
Mar. 9-11 – Jackson Hole, WY
Mar. 16-18 – Seattle, WA
April 6-8 – Lake Tahoe, CA
TBD – Park City, UT (we will update when the official date is announced)
To learn more about the Freedom of the Forests campaign, check out westonsnowboards.com and follow the link on the main page.