Home/ Blog/ Expert Stories/ Partner Spotlight: The Conservation Alliance

Partner Spotlight: The Conservation Alliance

EmmaW
Expert Stories


Apr.27.26
MAR_2166_MakeOrBreak_Blog_header

At ExpertVoice, we believe the outdoor spaces that shape our industries — and our lives — deserve more than appreciation. They deserve protection. That’s why we’re proud to partner with The Conservation Alliance (TCA), a coalition uniting businesses to safeguard the lands and waters that make outdoor recreation possible.

Since becoming a member in 2023, supporting TCA has been a natural extension of our mission, helping us empower experts who rely on these environments every day and ensure they’re preserved for generations to come.

A growing movement for conservation

Founded in 1989 by outdoor industry leaders, The Conservation Alliance was built on a simple idea: collective action drives greater impact. Today, that idea has grown into a powerful network of companies working together to protect North America’s most vital landscapes.

In 2026, that collective voice is only getting stronger.

With new threats to public lands and increasing pressure on natural resources, TCA and its members are rallying businesses, communities and policymakers around a shared goal — protecting the places that power outdoor adventures and sustain local economies.

The results speak for themselves. In 2025, TCA helped protect more than 855,000 acres of land and supported 37 conservation projects, while elevating conservation as both an environmental and economic priority.

But beyond the numbers, the momentum is what stands out.

Brands for Public Lands: What started as an idea has grown into a nationwide movement. In just a few months, more than 160 brands across 30 states joined forces to advocate for public lands, representing over 72,000 employees and $20 billion in revenue. It’s a clear sign that businesses see conservation not as a tradeoff, but as a long-term investment..

Defending the Roadless Rule: Inventoried Roadless Areas are some of the most untouched and economically valuable landscapes in the U.S. As these protections face potential rollbacks, TCA is teaming up with businesses to preserve these lands and bring attention to the critical role they play in recreation, local economies and biodiversity.

Public lands protection efforts: From the Grand Canyon to Alaska’s D-1 lands, TCA is working alongside partners to keep public lands accessible, protected and sustainably managed — supporting healthy ecosystems and the $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy.

Restoring ecosystems through grassroots action: TCA’s grant programs fund community-led conservation projects, like restoring salmon habitats in the Snake River Basin and supporting Indigenous-led stewardship initiatives — showing how local action can create lasting environmental and cultural impact.

Why partnerships like this matter

Supporting The Conservation Alliance means investing in more than conservation — it’s about safeguarding the resources that sustain businesses, strengthening the outdoor economy, and ensuring lasting business resilience. By bringing businesses, communities, and outdoor enthusiasts together, we connect people who care about protecting the natural places we all love.”

Paul Hendricks
Executive Director, The Conservation Alliance

At its core, The Conservation Alliance operates on the belief that conservation and business are deeply connected. Outdoor companies, and the experts who power them, depend on healthy landscapes. Protecting those spaces isn’t just good stewardship; it’s essential to sustaining the industries and communities built around them.

That’s something we feel strongly about at ExpertVoice.

Much of our business and the careers and passions of our experts rely on the availability of nature and all that it encompasses. Hiking, skiing, camping, fishing, running, hunting, and so much more happen outdoors, often in national parks and public lands. Without these spaces, we don’t have a business, and many of our experts lose not just a livelihood but something they love.

That’s why supporting TCA felt like a natural fit. Their mission resonates with who we are and what we do at ExpertVoice, and I really appreciate their straightforward approach to conservation.”

Cotter Cunningham
CEO, ExpertVoice

What’s ahead

While we have so much to be proud of, we’re also remaining vigilant about defending our cherished outdoor spaces from attacks coming from all directions. Key landscapes like the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are facing direct threats, and some of our bedrock environmental laws like the Roadless Rule and the National Environmental Policy Act are under attack.”

Paul Hendricks
Executive Director, The Conservation Alliance

From scaling advocacy efforts to increasing funding for grassroots projects, the work ahead is ambitious — grounded in a proven model of collaboration.

The bigger picture

Conservation isn’t a one-time effort — it’s an ongoing commitment. One that requires alignment across industries, communities and individuals.

Through our partnership with The Conservation Alliance, we’re proud to play a small part in a much larger movement to protect the places our experts rely on, and our future generations deserve to experience.

As a hiker and fisherman (and occasional skier), I’ve been fortunate to visit many of America’s parks and wildlife areas. Each one is beautiful and special in its own way. I’d hate to see them unavailable to my kids — and someday maybe their kids.”

Cotter Cunningham
CEO, ExpertVoice

 

Learn more about The Conservation Alliance’s work

Related Content

Everything you need to go backpacking

What’s essential and what’s a luxury is a hotly debated topic for backpacking.   This guide is a curated selection of the essentials most experts recommend you bring on a weekend backpacking trip. And if you have space, don’t forget to squeeze in your favorite luxury item, too.  Backpack The best backpacking backpack is the one […]

Read More

5 running gear mistakes you don’t want to make

Running is full of lessons. Some you learn mid-stride and others after the blisters, soreness or dehydration sets in. Hi, I’m Alisha, a trail runner who has figured out what I need and what works best for me the way most runners do — by messing it up first. To help us all run smarter, […]

Read More

Field Notes: A week on the Uinta Highline with Gabe Chez

When you spend most of your year leading others into the backcountry, your own adventures can start to feel like work. For Gabe Chez, a professional outdoor guide based in Golden, Colorado, the Uinta Highline Trail was a chance to change that — to push himself without worrying about clients, schedules or safety briefings. Just […]

Read More