2025 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

Name: How Administrative Action is Reshaping the Risk Landscape for Outdoor Recreation Service Providers
Start: 2025-10-02T10:30:00-0400
End: 2025-10-02T12:00:00-0400

Main Conference: Tuesday, September 30 - Thursday, October 2, 2025

Preconference: Monday September 29 - Tuesday, September 30, 2025

*Schedule subject to change.

Thursday October 2, 2025 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT

New Hampshire

Rapid changes at the Federal level have created a shifting landscape for managing physical, emotional, and business risk in outdoor programs. Are you concerned about the future of your organization’s federal contracts in light of recent equity-related executive orders (EO), while weighing the risks that your organization may face if you remain committed to the principles of DEI and accessibility? Although recent administrative actions envision a grim future for equity-based programs, a growing number of federal court cases prove that your organization may be in less danger than you think. Come hear from Jahir Morris, a public policy advocate for equitable access to federal public lands, on the risks that your organization may face from equity-related administrative actions, how to minimize risks without compromising on equity goals, and what we can learn from legal challenges to equity-related EOs. Executive Orders and work by DOGE have also radically reshaped capacity for our Federal Land Managers, and will impact your organization’s risk management resources. What will you do when your permitted lands are impacted by wildfire and there aren’t enough resources to fight that fire? Or, how can you assess avalanche risk if your local USFS avalanche center is understaffed or even closed? Will political attacks on DEI impact your ability to manage emotional risk for your participants and staff? Joshua Cole, IFMGA Guide and Risk Management Consultant, will introduce systems to help assess and mitigate these seemingly ever-changing risks to your operations, staff, and participants.

Speakers

Joshua Cole

Equitable Access Policy Fellow, The Wilderness Society

Joshua Cole is an owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, a senior risk management consultant for Experiential Consulting, and a former program director for the Northwest Outward Bound School. He is an instructor and examiner for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), and... Read More →

Jahir Morris

Equitable Access Policy Fellow, The Wilderness Society

Jahir Morris is the High Meadows Fellow for Equitable Access Policy at the Wilderness Society, where he advocates for policies that guarantee safe and meaningful engagement with nature and federal public lands for everyone. Jahir is a recent graduate from Princeton University, where... Read More →

Thursday October 2, 2025 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT
New Hampshire Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04119

Program Administration, Breakout Session

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2025 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

Joshua Cole

Jahir Morris

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