About

Mission

The Cascade Project’s mission is to conserve places, species, ecosystems and experiences by facilitating actively managed and sustainable human access and recreation.

Who We Are

The Cascade Project is a nonprofit conservation organization spearheading solutions to recreation, access and land use challenges. TCP is not an advocacy organization. We do not take sides, we do not “fight” for any particular type of use. We are not against anything, unless driven by selfish desires or closed mindedness. TCP’s vision has developed from years of experience in agency uniforms, within and alongside varied NGOs, in the courtroom, and on the ground. TCP occupies a unique niche where efficient private sector solutions can advance public recreation and land management needs.

Background

TCP was formed as an outgrowth of the experiences of its founders and others they have worked with in various government agencies, advocacy organizations, user organizations, businesses and local communities. In TCP they seek to fill a void through a solution focused, ideologically diverse conservation organization emphasizing ownership and management of private property interests in concert with public recreation demand.

Public land recreation issues are often characterized as “difficult,” “contentious,” or “polarized.”  The U.S. Supreme Court characterized a case involving continuing vehicle use of wilderness study areas as “a classic land use dilemma of sharply inconsistent uses, in a context of scarce resources and congressional silence….”  Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, 542 U.S. 55, 60 (2004). Each site and issue is unique, but one can intelligently make a few generalizations: (a) recreation demand is significant and at least steady, if not increasing for certain types of uses or in certain areas; (b) existing laws and regulations provide only general guidance and leave recreation management largely to agency discretion; (c) agency discretion equals controversy or at least universal dissatisfaction with agency decisions, which breeds resource-sapping appeals and litigation; (d) public land management agencies face scary challenges allocating dollars and human resources to recreation management – agency gridlock is a real fear and likely to only grow;  (e) many reputable and effective organizations actively participate in recreation issues, but necessarily develop reputations as advocates who legitimately but unashamedly seek to influence administrative, legislative and judicial processes.

TCP is designed to fill this void.  TCP seeks to be solution-focused and to avoid active involvement in public land management or adversarial proceedings.  We believe that effective partnerships can be formed within and across existing organizations, but needs to occur through a new entity that is actively focused on narrow, private sector solutions that advance diverse forms of recreation.

Recreationists must remain active in public land recreation management and the accompanying controversy. But they can do more. There are important ways that recreationists can enhance existing opportunities and develop new opportunities through support of TCP’s mission.  We can invest in our future and become owners of recreational interests rather than just participants in the public land management process.

Formation of TCP assisted through generous support by the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative.