Will Mook, Executive Director, and Dash Andrews, Programing Coordinator, with Advocates for Multi-Use of Public Lands (AMPL) called into the Weekday Wake-Up on Monday, February 23 to discuss expanding into Star Valley to provide more trail access on public lands in Lincoln County.

(0:00) Time to pour a little more wake up on your weekday. This is Duke Dallenton on the SVI radio network is (0:09) 848 this morning on Swift 98 and the spur with the SVI radio network heading into my second guest interview segment of the morning today and (0:18) talking snowpack in western Wyoming in current avalanche conditions with the advocates for multi-use of public lands dash (0:26) Andrews with me today’s the program coordinator for the group and also will look the executive director and avalanche educator dash will good morning (0:33) How are you guys doing today? (0:35) Doing great, dude. Thanks for having us on.

Absolutely. I’m warning. I absolutely appreciate your time (0:41) Let’s see a will.

Let’s start with you as the executive director (0:43) Tell us what is the multi-use of advocates for multi-use of public lands and and the goals of the organization? (0:51) Yeah, well we can simplify our name just by ample that’s how a lot of our local community knows our name (0:58) But we formed in 2017 during the Wyoming public lands initiative (1:03) There were some groups trying to close some of our favorite riding areas. So we we advocate for multi-use recreation. So (1:11) We represent a broad coalition of users from motorized to non motorized (1:16) But there were some folks that didn’t want to see (1:19) Motorized use in the Palisades (1:22) Wilderness study area and then Shoal Creek wilderness study area.

And so we we formed in (1:26) 2017 to keep those areas open because we feel that all users need access to high quality recreation opportunities (1:35) So, you know as an organization, we really our roots formed in the advocacy world (1:39) and that’s still our backbone, but we’ve we’ve really expanded and (1:44) Do a lot of boots on the ground projects to week we staffed trail crews (1:51) in Teton Valley, Idaho (1:52) Jackson Wyoming (1:54) And then dash if you want to jump in we’re we’re excited to be expanding that crew down into Star Valley this this coming summer (2:01) Yeah (2:03) Absolutely. So in addition to working with the policy makers and public land managers (2:09) Ample spends a lot of energy trying to get people out on their public lands all the different user groups, you know (2:17) moto (2:19) Mountain bike snowmobile (2:20) We want everybody to have the best access possible because if you’re out there having a blast on your public lands (2:27) You’re gonna be somebody who cares about preserving your public lands and you’re gonna be a good steward for those lands. So (2:34) My job is is pretty much I run all the on the ground efforts (2:40) To improve access.

So that’s grooming snowmobile trails in the winter (2:45) running trail crews (2:47) to improve our (2:50) multi-use single (2:52) track trails in the area and (2:55) We have been doing that for a long time, you know up here in Teton Valley in the big holes up in Jackson (3:02) In Mosquito Creek, we’ve actually built some new multi-use trails, which we’re really proud of it’s it’s hard to do that these days (3:10) but (3:11) Part of the reason we’re excited to talk to you this morning is we’re actually going to be expanding (3:17) Into Lincoln County this summer. We got a grant from the state comes from your eye (3:23) your dirt bike registration stickers (3:26) And that’s gonna allow us to actually staff a crew of a couple guys that are gonna (3:33) right, you know, they’ll have a (3:35) Chainsaw mount on the forks of their dirt bike and they’re gonna ride and keep all of those (3:41) Spectacular single track trails that we have here in Lincoln County (3:45) clear (3:46) You know doing drainage fixing the muddy spots cutting back brush (3:51) That’s overgrowing the trail cutting out all the logs that fall each winter (3:56) And we are gonna be hiring for this so if you or somebody, you know (4:02) You know likes to work hard likes to be outside and is looking for a job (4:07) We pay well (4:09) It’s a blast (4:10) We do ask that you own a dirt bike or an electric mountain bike because there’s really no other way to access the trails (4:18) here, but (4:19) Yeah, we’re really excited. These are some of the (4:22) Some of the most spectacular single track trails in the country right here or at least from motorized trails right here in Lincoln County (4:29) So we’re gonna do what we can to make them better.

Absolutely (4:32) That’s that is exciting (4:34) And so when you talk about these improvements that apples starting and hoping to make in Lincoln County the Star Valley area specifically any any (4:42) Specific trails or areas that you have in mind already that you’re gonna target maybe somewhere the Grays River or you looking more (4:49) kind of (4:51) In the Alpine where anywhere specific right now, I (4:55) mean, I think we’re (4:58) just gonna have to (5:01) Get out there and clear everything first because (5:04) There’s kind of been deferred maintenance. There’s a lot of trails that probably have a lot of logs down on them (5:11) But I mean we’re gonna be everywhere on the Graves River Ranger District, you know up and down the Graves River Road (5:17) all across the Star Valley Front (5:21) We’re we’re kind of gonna be everywhere just clearing this year mostly and then we’ll be able to identify (5:27) Those projects that need more work, you know stuff like culverts installed bridges built, you know, that’ll probably be later right now (5:35) We’re just gonna get everything clear so we can ride it and see what needs to be done (5:39) Dash Andrews and will look with the advocates for multi-use of public lands (5:46) Will a lot of coordination I’m sure has to go into something like this and you guys over the last (5:52) What almost 10 years now that you since you’ve created this organization? (5:56) I bet you’ve developed some really good working relationships with with with like the the you know (6:00) the the forest service and (6:02) and able to be able to do these projects because the I don’t know that the (6:06) Just the average resident can just go up Graves River with a chainsaw and start cutting right and so to be able to do it (6:13) Through a group like yours has got to be huge (6:15) Yeah, I mean it it’s it’s been a long time building all these these relationships and we’re we’re really proud of where we’ve gotten to (6:23) today in 2026, but (6:26) We also owe the public a lot of credit because the public does (6:29) generally take care of their public lands and and they we see a lot of members of the public riding dirt bikes with the (6:34) Chainsaw just to help out and packing the chainsaw on their horse, etc. So (6:39) We’re just hoping to take some of the load off the public so that when they go out they get to actually just play (6:45) Yeah, we’ve got a great relationship with the Bridger Teton National Forest (6:49) Started with the Jackson District and as our impact started to grow (6:54) staff from the Jackson District reached out to the Graves River District and (6:59) Said that we were a resource and you know as as our resources allow we want to be able to expand our reach as far as (7:06) We possibly can (7:07) Perfect.

And so how does how does someone get involved? You mentioned you’re gonna be hiring and looking for some help (7:12) What’s the process look like? I? (7:14) Mean the best place to go is our web page and that’s team ample and PL org (7:21) On there. There’s contact forms where you can reach out to us (7:25) You can also shoot us an email and that’s connect at team ample org (7:31) Follow us on social media team ample. It’s all pretty consistent.

But yeah (7:37) By reaching out through our website or emails the best (7:40) That’s will book and dash Andrews with ample the advocate for multi-use of public lands expanding into the Star Valley area this upcoming summer (7:48) Guys, I know you do a lot of things with avalanche education as well (7:51) You’re watching the the snowpack this year, which has been obviously well below average anything on those topics (7:57) You’d like to mention while we have you today (7:59) Yeah, I think it’s um (8:01) You know, I’m an avid snowmobiler. I (8:04) Cut my teeth mountain riding as a backcountry snowmobile guide up at Togety Mountain Lodge (8:09) And it’s been about 15 years of mountain riding for me and whenever we have these long periods of no snow (8:16) We are weakening that snow surface so then when the next snowstorm comes which we just had this last end of last week (8:24) We’re putting a big load on top of some pretty nasty weak layers (8:28) And so, you know, I highly highly recommend before anybody goes into the backcountry (8:35) They hop on Bridger Teton avalanche center org and read that avalanche bulletin (8:41) If you look at it today, we’re sitting at a considerable danger rating (8:45) And we’ve got two avalanche problems. We all need to be paying attention to a persistent slab problem in a wind slab problem (8:53) But just back to that trend of (8:55) Long drought periods where we then get a big snowstorm.

That’s when we historically see (9:01) Avalanche accidents and then and unfortunately across the west we’ve already started to see some of those (9:06) there have been some tragic avalanches in (9:09) California (9:11) Utah and I just read right before I hopped on this this interview (9:15) There was one yesterday up in Island Park (9:17) and so we’re all dealing with these similar conditions and we really really need to have our hackles up and (9:23) Be really cautious of the terrain that we’re choosing to go ride in. So I just urge people to (9:30) One get formal avalanche education to definitely read the avalanche forecast no matter what (9:36) and then just just play it conservative right now until we can (9:40) See what this next storm cut tomorrow brings and what our avalanche conditions become (9:47) Thank you guys both so much for your time. That’s will mook the executive director of the (9:53) Advocates for multi-use of public lands and also dash Andrews the programming coordinator guys (9:57) I hope we can talk again soon when you guys really get things rolling and underway this summer appreciate the update today