onX Celebrates National Public Lands Day

onX, an outdoor recreation company, recently hosted Shared Ground, a symposium where enthusiasts (a coalition of hunters, dirt bikers, backcountry skiers, and ultra-runners) who rely on public lands for adventure gathered to discuss common issues. This event became the genesis of various ideas about how attendees can preserve and improve access to our public lands as well as reduce our impact on natural playgrounds. By coming together, attendees realized they could do more to protect our outdoor experiences than if they remained divided.

One of the items generated from the discussion was that onX would send additional funds to TreadLightly to support a project in the Tillamook State Forest (in Oregon).

“Public lands have given me a sense of balance, a sense of exploration,” said professional mountaineer, Conrad Anker. “It’s sparked curiosity, it’s given me a place to rejuvenate. Everything I see in life is through the prism of public lands, and I couldn’t see it in any other way. We all own these lands and we all share them. It’s a pretty unique and special thing.”

“You have personal responsibility to take care of that land that you’re enjoying,” said host and producer at Skull Bound TV and onX Hunt Ambassador, Jana Waller. “We as individuals have to remember not to make that big of an imprint on the land. Stewardship also means passing that on, and just getting out there and enjoying it. Because if people enjoy it and understand all the beautiful places they get to go, then they’re going to do what they can to protect it.”

“Community is a pivotal part of maintaining the outdoors,” said WLF Enduro founder and onX Offroad Ambassador, Luke Takahashi. “One of the common threads that connects user groups in the outdoors is really the vision and the hopefulness for sustainability out here.”

onX also gives back to the community by allocating a portion of its annual sales, onX is able to support public land access as well as the restoration and upkeep of trails. A limited number of these grants are available to clubs, trail associations, and other qualifying organizations. Submissions for onX Access + Stewardship Grants close Oct 16. Visit https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/outdoor-recreation-access-stewardship-grants to apply

onX Offroad is the go-to source for off-road maps and GPS technology, with data on over 550,000 miles of motorized trails and 852 million acres of public land. They strive to create the most complete, current, and accurate mapping app available on the market because they know that off-the-beaten-path experiences are what make life worth living. In addition to providing mapping services, they also lead initiatives to protect and expand access to public land as well as promote stewardship opportunities.

To see everything onX has compiled for National Public Lands Day and to watch onX Ambassadors discuss the impact that public lands have had on them, visit: https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/national-public-lands-day

Doc Rader

Tom is a former Navy Corpsman that spent some time bumbling around the deserts of Iraq with a Marine Recon unit, kicking in tent flaps and harassing sheep. Before that, he was a paramedic somewhere in DFW, also doing some Executive Protection work between shifts. Now that those exciting days are behind him, he has embraced his inner “Warrior Hippie,” and assaults 14er in his sandals, and engages in rucking adventure challenges while consuming copious water. To fund these adventures, he writes all manner of content (having also held editor positions at several publications) and teaches wilderness medicine and off-road skills. He hopes that his posts will help you find the gear that will survive whatever you can throw at it (and the training to use it). Learn from his mistakes--he is known (in certain circles) for his curse...ahem, ability...to find the breaking point of anything. You can follow him at https://linktr.ee/docrader.