{"id":198444,"date":"2024-12-23T08:13:43","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T16:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=198444"},"modified":"2025-05-22T13:38:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T20:38:05","slug":"action-network-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/action-network-celebration","title":{"rendered":"Better Together: The REI Cooperative Action Network Community Celebrates Historic Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What if the saying \u201cMany hands make light work\u201d applied to inspiring real, lasting policy change for life outside? Well, good news: It does, thanks to the REI Cooperative Action Network<\/a>, a change-making platform where co-op members mobilize toward our shared goals of protecting spaces we love, expanding outdoor access and supporting initiatives that tackle climate change.  

Since 2021, the Cooperative Action Network has equipped more than 350,000 people\u2014REI Co-op Members, staff, customers, nonprofit partners and more\u2014with the resources and information they need to raise their voices and make a difference. Together, we\u2019ve sent more than 1.25 million messages to legislators and other decision-makers, resulting in astounding wins for both people and the planet.  

Here are just a few of the REI Co-op Member community\u2019s victories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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REI Co-op Impact Report 2024: Everybody Outside<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fight to get all of us outside starts with each one of us. Whether it’s getting all of us closer to nature, protecting the health of the planet or fostering a more inclusive outdoor culture, we’ve all played a part in the last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2024 REI Co-op Impact Report, you can learn how the co-op\u2014along with you, REI Co-op Members\u2014has worked to ensure everyone in the United States has the opportunity to spend time outdoors. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Better Trails<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Get ready to run and ride on improved local trails thanks to $45 million in funding for the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP)<\/a>, which provides grants to help communities build and connect trail networks for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users and more. These trail improvements will help reduce car dependency across communities and provide safe, clean ways for more U.S. residents to get where they need to go, all while reducing traffic and pollution and <\/em>helping people be active outdoors.  

Together with our partners from Rails to Trails Conservancy<\/a>, the Cooperative Action Network mobilized more than 18,000 REI Co-op community members to support the creation and full funding of this program by Congress \u2013 building on existing infrastructure to make sustainable transportation and recreation a reality.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Healthier State Parks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


State parks in Texas welcome nearly 10 million annual visitors, and yet the state has ranked 35th<\/sup> in the nation for park acreage per capita. In 2023, voters in Texas said yes to the future of their state park system by voting to create the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund<\/a>, a $1 billion fund to expand and improve public lands across the state, at no additional cost to everyday Texans. This fund will help protect land and water resources, address areas strained by overcrowding, and generally improve parkgoers\u2019 access and experience in these beautiful places.  

In partnership with the Texas Coalition for State Parks<\/a> and 90 other organizations, REI Co-op Members have helped guarantee that future generations of Texans and tourists can enjoy world-class parks and protected natural areas throughout the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New and Expanded National Monuments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


America\u2019s wild spaces are more than just beautiful; they\u2019re culturally, historically and spiritually meaningful to countless Indigenous people who have stewarded them for centuries, and to diverse nature-deprived communities across the country. For more than a century, establishing, expanding and protecting these sites with national monument designation has been a powerful way to conserve these places for the enjoyment of all.  

\u201cThe mountains need to be protected, because they are our operators for our prayers,\u201d says Carletta Tilousi, Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition Coordinator and Havasupai tribal member. \u201cThey are our antennas, so that our prayers can reach out into the cosmos and onto the heavens.\u201d The Havasupai have lived in the Grand Canyon for centuries, and were among several tribal and conservationist organizations that REI Co-op partnered with to encourage monument designation for seven significant sites:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n