The AMC’s work depends on support from members like you to keep our programs and facilities up and running. Each and every month, the AMC works to fulfill its mission of promoting the protection, enjoyment, and wise use of our region’s mountains, rivers, and trails.
See what a sample month might look like and the type of things your support helps us accomplish in a given year.
January
The AMC’s Conservation Action Network (CAN), an easy-to-use email system that provides alerts and updates about environmental issues in your area, gives members the power to be heard on important issues. For example, by the end of 2004, 17,600 CAN members had already sent 15,883 electronic messages to key decision makers on important issues such as clean air and the protection of forests, parks, rivers, watersheds, trails and greenways.
February
While Punxsutawney Phil is busy looking for his shadow, thousands of outdoor enthusiasts are strapping on skis, snowshoes, and crampons, and jumping on sleds. The potential for accidents is high. The AMC’s winter safety program teaches people the skills they need to be safe in the backcountry. In case of an emergency, the AMC’s Search and Rescue operation is prepared to respond with rescue equipment, radio communications, and trained staff who volunteer their time to participate in dangerous backcountry rescues.
March
Spring skiers and winter sports enthusiasts are still happy, but for many this is the perfect time to get some necessary work done indoors. While many of us are hibernating, the AMC’s team of researchers is busy laying the groundwork for the year’s projects. Sustainable forestry, alpine ecology and stewardship, air quality, wind power, conservation, and interactive mapping are just some of the issues they focus on.
April
The season of melting snow and spring rain arrives filling our rivers. The AMC works to increase awareness of river safety and stewardship. We’re dedicated to protecting river watersheds in the Northeast and increasing recreational access for river enthusiasts. Conservation staff work throughout the year protecting access to recreational boating areas, working with agencies and dam owners to increase flow and access, and promoting the health and longevity of our region’s rivers.
May
As you step onto a trail for the first time, keep an eye out for an AMC trail crew. Each spring, AMC professional and volunteer trail crews trek into the backcountry to assess the winter’s damage and to begin the repair and reconstruction of damaged trails -- from Maine to Washington D.C. Our hard-working crews need your support as they clear fallen trees, clean out clogged water bars to prevent erosion, and build bog bridges and stone steps. Our crews depend on support from members like you to keep them outfitted with the equipment, tools, safety gear, food, and shelter they need to get the job done.
June
Looking for an opportunity to hike, bike, paddle, or swim? The AMC’s huts, lodges, camps, and camp sites await you! From Echo Lake Camp in Maine’s Acadia National Park to the Mohican Outdoor Center in the Delaware Water Gap of New Jersey, the AMC offers cozy bunk space, hearty meals, outdoor safety and environmental learning opportunities, and unlimited possibilities for outdoor adventure. Through our destinations, AMC strives to make a strong connection between enjoying memorable outdoor experiences and becoming engaged in protecting the outdoors.
July
Six Degrees of an AMC Volunteer? If you aren’t already an AMC volunteer, we’ll bet you are related to one, have a friend who’s one, or have just run into one during an outdoor adventure. With more hikers, backpackers, campers, and adventurers getting into the backcountry than ever before, the AMC’s trained volunteers play a critical role in achieving our mission. Volunteers wear many hats at AMC: on the trails as Ridgerunners and Alpine Stewards, in the outdoors leading chapter trips, and at our huts, outdoor program centers, and camps offering assistance and providing safety and recreational information.
August
What does the AMC have to do with inner city kids camping out on the Boston Harbor Islands? Everything! The AMC’s Youth Opportunities Program was created 37 years ago to train and equip youth workers to lead outdoor trips for urban youth who may not otherwise have the opportunity to get out into the backcountry. Young participants have a blast and, at the same time, learn leadership skills, trust, decision-making skills, the value of teamwork, self-confidence, and self respect. By the end of 2004, we served more than 230 youth agencies through AMC’s Outdoor Leadership Training. In 2004, 6,200 at-risk youth from across the Northeast participated in a YOP trip; enjoying everything from hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and rock climbing! In addition, the number of youth participating in YOP's Boston program increased in 2004 by 10% from 2003, the most youth the program has ever served in its 37-year history!
September
There’s no better way to go back to school than with the AMC’s education programs. The AMC offers programs and trainings for all ages and has a strong focus on teaching young people about the environment. A Mountain Classroom is a great example of what the AMC’s education programs are all about. In one- to five-day sessions, students experience hands-on learning in a natural setting. Students are immersed in topics ranging from ecology and watersheds to astronomy and weather while they enjoying hiking, snowshoeing and exploring.
October
Don’t miss the wonders of fall foliage! A great way to experience the outdoors in autumn is to visit the Highland Center at Crawford Notch located in the heart of New Hampshire's White Mountains. This outdoor program center is designed to offer lasting outdoor experiences for day and overnight visitors of all ages through workshops, interpretive programs, outdoor skills and leadership training, guided hikes, and other opportunities to experience the surrounding mountain environment.
November
Here at the AMC we have a platter full of land protection goals! The AMC’s dedicated efforts are focused on land protection that will preserve open space for our enjoyment now and into the future, including the Northern Forest, the Highlands Region, the White Mountain National Forest, and Massachusetts Forests and Parks, and AMC's Maine Woods Initiative.
December
December is an exciting month at AMC. Our winter skills workshops are in full swing at our outdoor program centers and visitors are enjoying backcountry adventures at the AMC’s newest destination, Little Lyford Pond Camps near Greenville, Maine. Cardigan Lodge, Lonesome Lake, Carter Notch, and Zealand Huts are filling up with snowshoers and skiers looking for fresh tracks and deep turns. Our staff is busy pursuing increased land and river protection, conducting scientific research on air quality and wind power, editing guidebooks, mapping trails, training volunteers, and doing myriad other projects pursuant to the AMC’s mission.
As each year ends, we are thankful to be a part of such excitement and hopeful for your continued support of the AMC’s work!
