Paul Hendricks, executive director of The Conservation Alliance; Jen McLaren, global brand president of Altra; and Dawn Mancini Moyer, regional sustainability manager at Fjällräven, join Bill and Anders for a live panel recorded at Switchback Spring 2026, the outdoor industry’s business and education trade show, in New Orleans. The conversation covers the business case for corporate advocacy on public lands, including Congress’s use of the Congressional Review Act against protections like the Boundary Waters mineral withdrawal, The Conservation Alliance’s 170-plus-company Brands for Public Lands coalition, and a Conservation Alliance and Headwaters Economics study finding no economic disruption to gateway communities following national monument designations. Panelists also discuss Fjällräven’s fire-mitigation partnership near Boulder’s Chautauqua and Altra’s trail-running access toolkit developed with the Running Industry Diversity Coalition. The conversation comes as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum continues to frame public lands as a financial “balance sheet” asset, a framing the panel directly challenges.

What is the actual risk, and the actual reward, of a brand using its voice to push back?

Paul Hendricks, Jen McLaren, and Dawn Mancini Moyer sat down with Bill and Anders for a live panel recorded at Switchback Spring 2026, the outdoor industry’s twice-yearly trade show, held this year in New Orleans. Hendricks is executive director of The Conservation Alliance, the 37-year-old coalition of outdoor businesses that pools member dues into grants for grassroots conservation groups. McLaren is global brand president of Altra, the trail-running shoe brand. Mancini Moyer is regional sustainability manager for Fjällräven in North America. Together they take on a question increasingly on the minds of outdoor industry leaders: when public lands face what Hendricks calls an unprecedented and coordinated set of threats, what is the actual risk, and the actual reward, of a brand using its voice to push back?

Hendricks opens by naming the scale of the problem, citing a report counting 65 separate congressional actions against public lands this year alone, layered on top of administrative rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. He argues the deepest cost isn’t any single rollback but the uncertainty it creates: businesses, communities, and land managers can’t plan around protections that flip on and off. McLaren and Mancini Moyer describe how that uncertainty shows up inside their own companies, from employee expectations to consumer trust, and detail concrete tools they’ve built in response, including Altra’s social impact fund for retailers and its trail-running access toolkit developed with the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, and Fjällräven’s fire-mitigation partnership near its Boulder store and its long-running Fjällräven Classic backpacking events on public land. Hendricks also details The Conservation Alliance’s Brands for Public Lands coalition, now more than 170 companies strong, and a recent Conservation Alliance and Headwaters Economics study finding that national monument designations do not disrupt, and can modestly grow, local economies.

The conversation turns candid on the economics of advocacy, taking on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s framing of public lands as a financial “balance sheet” asset directly: Hendricks agrees public lands are an asset, but argues the outdoor recreation economy, worth an estimated $1.3 trillion a year, makes the case for sustaining them rather than selling them off. Audience questions turn the panel toward what’s actually working, from Altra’s Philadelphia trail-running grant to the National Wilderness Coalition’s new Voices for Wilderness storytelling platform. Asked what gives them hope against the exhaustion of a constant news cycle, all three point to the same thing: the people, employees, consumers, and the next generation, already showing up. 

In this episode:

• The scale of the threat Hendricks cites a report counting 65 congressional actions against public lands this year, on top of administrative rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act, and argues uncertainty itself is the deepest cost to businesses and communities.
• Brands for Public Lands The Conservation Alliance’s business coalition, now more than 170 companies, organizing brands and retailers to lobby directly for public lands protection.
• The Headwaters Economics study A Conservation Alliance-backed analysis of 35 national monuments finding designation does not disrupt local economies, and can modestly grow them.
• Altra’s trail-running access toolkit A partnership with the Running Industry Diversity Coalition addressing barriers to trail running, which helped a Philadelphia running group secure a $300,000 grant.
• Fjällräven’s Chautauqua partnership A Boulder, Colorado fire-mitigation collaboration near the brand’s local store, alongside its long-running Fjällräven Classic backpacking events on public land.
• The “$1.3 trillion” argument Hendricks makes the case that the outdoor recreation economy, not just extraction industries, deserves a seat at the table when public lands are framed as financial assets.
• Voices for Wilderness A new storytelling platform from the National Wilderness Coalition, letting the public share why wilderness matters to them.
• What gives the panel hope Employees and the next generation pushing brands to act, even amid a relentless news cycle.

Links & Resources

Organizations & Initiatives:

• The Conservation Alliance — Coalition of outdoor businesses founded in 1989 that pools member dues into grants for grassroots conservation organizations across North America. 
• Brands for Public Lands — The Conservation Alliance-organized coalition of more than 170 companies advocating against the sale and industrial development of public lands. 
• Running Industry Diversity Coalition — Trail Running Toolkit — A toolkit developed with Altra addressing barriers to trail running for Black, Indigenous, and people of color runners. 
• Fjällräven Classic USA — Fjällräven’s annual multi-day backpacking trek in the Colorado Rockies, referenced as a way the brand connects consumers directly to public land. 
• Trust for Public Land — National land conservation nonprofit referenced as a partner organization supporting land protection work. 
• National Wilderness Coalition — Coalition of conservation and environmental justice organizations: its Voices for Wilderness project invites public storytelling about why wilderness matters. 
• Switchback — The outdoor industry’s twice-yearly business and education trade show, where this panel was recorded live in New Orleans. 

Places & Landscapes:

• Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — Minnesota wilderness area referenced as an example of a protected landscape recently opened to mineral development via the Congressional Review Act. 
• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument — Utah national monument referenced as an example of a landscape the panel wants to see protected. 

Government & Policy:

• Congressional Review Act (1996) — Federal law giving Congress a window to nullify recent agency rules; referenced as the mechanism used against protections like the Boundary Waters mineral withdrawal. 

People Mentioned:

• Doug Burgum — U.S. Secretary of the Interior, whose description of public lands as a financial “balance sheet” asset is directly referenced and challenged by the panel.
• Mike Lee — U.S. Senator referenced regarding a proposed plan to sell off public lands, which the panel credits Brands for Public Lands with helping defeat.
• Randy Newberg — Hunter, conservationist, and podcast host referenced by Bill as doing “amazing work” in the same advocacy space. Catch our conversation with Randy in Ep 13.
• Terry Tempest Williams — Author and past Wild Idea guest, whose “hope is a verb” reflection is referenced by Bill in the panel’s closing discussion. Catch our conversation with Terry in Ep 51.
• Meg Carney — Host of the Outdoor Minimalist podcast, who asked a question from the audience about brand storytelling campaigns and their real-world results. 

Jen McLaren is the Global Brand President of Altra, located in Denver, Colorado. She is responsible for the oversight and strategic direction of the Altra brand. Jen has been with VF Corporation and its brands for 20 years holding brand, strategy and financial leadership roles at both Smartwool and Timberland prior to Altra. Jen’s passion is building and growing emerging brands in the running, active and outdoor markets, and inspiring participation in sport and the outdoors. She is an outdoor and running enthusiast and spends her free time outside in the Colorado mountains with friends and family. Prior to VF, she started her career in finance at Softbank Venture Capital and Arthur Andersen. She is active in the Outdoor Industry Association as a current Board member and has supported key non-profit organizations through Board participation, sponsorship, and mentorship, such as SOS Outreach, The Nature Conservancy, Camber and the Futurist Project.

Paul Hendricks is the Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. Prior to TCA, Paul worked at Rivian and Patagonia where he helped build the companies’ climate, responsible sourcing, environmental advocacy, and philanthropic programs. He has also taught at the University of Colorado and UC Berkeley. While he grew up exploring the forests and lakes of Northern Michigan he is now based in Golden, Colorado where he spends his time running, climbing, and exploring our public lands with his wife and two kids.

Dawn Mancini Moyer leads the implementation of the Fenix Outdoor sustainability strategy in the Americas for the brands division, including: Fjällräven, Royal Robbins, Devold of Norway, and Hanwag. Dawn works to strengthen brand value and increase business resilience by proactively reducing nature and climate impacts across the value chain, supporting transparency, and empowering people to explore and protect nature. Dawn’s work is rooted in the Fenix Outdoor 2030 Sustainability Strategy, which is based on the foundational pillars of Climate Action; Culture, People and Societies; Value Chain; and Products & Services. Dawn has been working in sustainability for over 15 years.

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