Interview about the Surfrider Foundation's Snowrider Project
	The following interview appeared in the February 2004 issue of Full Tank Magazine.  More info's at the Snowrider Project web section. Matt McClain is the marketing director at the Surfrider Foundation (SF). The SF realized that water quality is not just a concern for beach goers but for mountain lovers as well. The idea to launch the Snowrider Foundation Project was the best way to create awareness to those coastal mountain areas. Fulltank lobbed a few questions at Matt to see what the project was all about. Q: In a few words, tell me what it would take for someone to start a Snowrider chapter in their neck of the woods? A: As a grassroots organization, the Surfrider Foundation relies heavily upon its chapters and activists to carry out our mission. We currently have 60 chapters throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Organizing a new chapter takes a lot of hard work and commitment. Starting a chapter typically requires at least a core group of 25 members who are ready and willing to volunteer their time to take on various campaigns and issues. While the majority of our chapters were formed out of the need to address a specific issue, we are starting to see groups of members starting to pull together simply out of the desire to network and raise awareness for the Foundation. Many people are surprised to learn that the Surfrider Foundation has members in all 50 states. And though the majority of our campaign work is carried out by chapters, it's important to recognize that some of our best outreaches are conducted by single or small group of members, working independently of a chapter. The best advice I could offer activist members, in mountain areas or otherwise, is to start networking with other activists. That is the greatest thing about grassroots activism; it allows small groups of people to effect change very rapidly. Our National Office can assist in this effort. Q: Can the Snowrider concept be a hard sell since in the mountains there is very little visible pollution? (litter, smog, fumes) A: The Snowrider Project is an educational initiative; it is applicable in every community ­ from the most pristine alpine community, to agricultural areas down valley, to highly urbanized areas. The goal of the project is to teach communities about the hydrologic cycle and the importance of fostering a heightened sense of watershed stewardship among alpine, downstream and coastal communities. Q: What would be a typical event to promote and encourage skiing/snowboarding and environmentalism? A: Many Surfrider Foundation chapters conduct regular outreaches, typically at resorts, throughout the season. At the end of January, several of our east coast chapters, including our Massachusetts Chapter, New England Chapter and our New York Chapter, are conducting a big tabling event at Stowe, VT. Other chapters are working with local resorts to develop specific initiatives to help educate the public on the importance of protecting our watersheds. For example, our Seattle Chapter is working with the folks up at the Summit at Snoqualmie to co-present an interpretive snowshoe hike into the local mountains with a US Forest Service Naturalist. Q: Surfrider has "Clean up the beach" events. What type of enviro-event could be help for Snowrider? A: Surprisingly, "clean-up" events are not really something we promote as part of the Snowrider Project. Snowrider Project was developed as part of Surfrider Foundation's Respect the Beach educational program, and as such, strives to remain focused on promoting a greater understanding of the hydrologic cycle and growing a larger sense of watershed stewardship within alpine and downstream communities. Thus, we are hoping to see more activists conducting things like classroom presentations or interpretive hikes or field trips. As far as "clean up" style activities go, we generally don't encourage them as the primary activity. Mind you it's not that clean-up activities are not a worthwhile effort ­ they are. However, at this stage we feel that if we only have a limited number of volunteer hours, they are better spent on educating communities and people. We feel that by going that, we best stand to make a lasting, more worthwhile effect on changing our environment. Certainly, what would be ideal is for us to get to the point where we've educated these communities enough to inspire them to hold their own watershed clean-ups. I would also add that in the past chapters have organized clean-ups at resorts, which is something that I am absolutely against. One thing that most people forget is that virtually none of the major ski resorts in the United States own the land they sit on - they lease it from the US Forest Service; it's public land! As part of their lease agreements, resorts are required to keep their permitted area clean. We shouldn't be doing their jobs for them. Q: A few years ago Snowrider was first launched. Has there been a positive response now that things are back on track? A: The problem that we encountered when we first launched the Snowrider Project was that we didn't have a clear idea of project goals. We failed to provide the same level of leadership for the project that we provided for our other initiatives; like our Blue Water Task Force testing program and our Beachscape coastal mapping program. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the program, but our activists didn't quite know what to do. To be successful the Snowrider Project needed to have a clear goal and a good set of deliverables and we didn't have them Fortunately, we are in a much better position this time around. We have a clear defined goal: to educate the public and promote watershed stewardship. We have some great new deliverables as well, including our Sea To Summit video, which features several top action sports athletes talking to kids about the hydrologic cycle. We also have a new Snowrider Project brochure and we are looking at creating an interactive DVD. We even have a new PSA featuring Tara Dakides. So I would say that the reaction from our members to this latest roll-out has been really positive. I think they understand why we had to sit on things for while and why we've chosen to roll it back out. The big test now will be in how the public will respond to the campaign. Q: Marketing is always a key factor when it comes to promoting things like environmentalism. Is it worth paying for an expensive page in a well established ski or snowboard magazine? A: All of our ads are placed through the generosity of our media partners to begin with, so that certainly makes a difference in keeping our costs to a minimum. We've received a fair amount of support from the surfing publications. I'm hoping that we can expect the same from the snow sport magazines. One thing in our favor is that several of the top winter sport magazines are published by the same people doing the surf pubs ­ Primedia, who produce Surfer and Surfing magazines also do Snowboarder and Powder. In addition to printing a surf magazine, Transworld Publication also does a TWSnowboarding and Freeze magazine. That just leaves Ski, Skiing and a few others to get into. We are pretty fortunate that there is not really a lot of competition in terms of environmental non-profits within the snow sports community, so we are hoping that will work in our favor. Q: Snowrider foundation has names like Tara Dakides to encourage support. Are professional athletes often the first to step up show support or is that generally not the case? A: I would say that it is important, especially with a younger audience. The action sports community, be it surfing, snowboarding or skateboarding, is still pretty top-down in terms of lifestyle. A good example is step-in bindings. How much money was poured into producing step-in bindings by the manufacturers? It was supposed to be the next big thing. Of course outside of a handful of guys, nobody in the pro ranks were riding them. For all the media hype, if you don't have the pros behind something, it's never going to gain traction with the kids. I think that concept rings true whether you are pushing bindings or the environment. That's why it's been so important for us to have Tara's support. The kids respect her, and if they see her getting behind something, they may at least give it some consideration. Q: Would it be safe to say that since Canada has longer winters, Canadians might be the perfect demographic for Snowrider? A: I would say that everyone is a perfect demographic for the Surfrider Foundation ­ everybody has a stake in protecting our oceans, waves and beaches. Whether you recreate in the ocean or on a mountain, you have a reason to care. Our oceans are the life's blood of the planet. They provide nearly 50% of the planet's oxygen supply, and are the primary source of moisture for the Earth's precipitation. Q: Any motivating information/fact you could leave us with? A: I just want to again stress that each and every one of us can make a difference. In some ways, our Snowrider Project logo is iconic, in that it represents this power of one. You take an individual snowflake. On its own, it may not seem like much. However when they begin to accumulate, you see how rapidly they become a force. And when the full weight of this collective group comes avalanching down on an issue, in our case protecting the environment, believe me…it makes a difference. It's important to remember that our efforts to protect and preserve our planet rely in us gathering strength ­ one activist at a time.