Get Outside to Win a Sweet Prize Package!

From January 1 – April 30, 2023, Winter Wildlands Alliance is hosting a California Winter Recreation Data Collection Contest using Colorado Mountain Club’s Recreation Impact Monitoring System (RIMS) mobile app.

Is the parking lot full? Is access to the trail blocked? Are the restrooms open or closed? Is the signage adequate? Is everyone being respectful of designations and other uses?

We need more data from actual winter recreationists in California to inform how winter recreation is managed on public lands and to ensure America’s wild snowscapes are protected for future generations. By using the RIMS app every time you go out, you can help land management agencies better understand what’s happening out there, and to address important winter recreation issues that impact us all.

How to Enter the Contest

1. Download the app to your phone via Google Play Store here or the Apple Store here.
2. Watch this short training video and take the online quiz linked at the end of the video.
3. Great, now you’re ready to get outside on public lands on skis, splitboard, snowshoes, snowmobile, fatbike, or however you enjoy wild winter landscapes. Starting at the trailhead, submit quick detailed assessments on your phone using the RIMS app, including coordinates and pictures.

Note: Downloadable winter recreation maps will be available to download within the app for use offline on the Stanislaus, Lassen and Inyo National Forests. Once maps are downloaded, the app can be used in the backcountry where there is no cell service. Reports are saved and uploaded when you return to service.

How to Win

WWA will choose a winner based on the highest number of quality, detailed RIMS Assessments submitted during the contest period on the following Sierra Nevada national forest units during the contest timeframe: Lassen, Plumas, Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), Eldorado, Stanislaus, Humboldt-Toiyabe, Inyo, Sierra and Sequoia.. This contest is open to the public.

Prizes

• Osprey Pack
• YETI cooler
• 2 YETI drinkware products
• Ski Kind trucker
• MountainFLOW eco-wax products
• WWA beanie
• 2 free tickets to their closest BCFF screening in the 2023-24 tour season
• Stickers

Where does the data go?

WWA and CMC will share reports with the Forest Service on a regular basis. In addition, most visitor use/facilities assessments are visible on the app for all users, so if you are monitoring a particular area with some frequency you will be able to track issues like parking and plowing. Violation and conflict reports are confidential but will be shared with Forest Service staff (for the purposes of planning, plan implementation, monitoring and management rather than for direct enforcement).

By providing a systematic method for volunteers to monitor winter recreation use on public lands, and to report specific issues and conflicts, we hope to help land managers better understand winter recreation use and trends in specific places. This will support our efforts to advocate for thoughtful winter travel planning, for additional Forest Service enforcement capacity in places where persistent Wilderness/non-motorized incursions occur, and investments in winter recreation infrastructure such as trailhead plowing, signage and educational resources, and facilities. This monitoring is also an essential component to implementation of new winter travel plans, such as the recently-completed Stanislaus OSV plan.

To learn more about using RIMS for winter recreation monitoring, check out the video embedded above. Prior to becoming a certified RIMS user, you must take the online tutorial available on the CMC website here.