Photographer and filmmaker Pete McBride will be the featured speaker at The Conservation Alliance Breakfast at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.


McBride spent two years following the water from his familys ranch to see where it ends up. He traveled the course of the Colorado River from source to sea, and came back with a photographic story about the lifeblood of the American West. The breakfast, which is open to the public, is Thursday, Aug. 1, from 7:00 – 8:50 a.m. at the downtown Marriott Hotel in Salt Lake City.

McBride grew up on a ranch in Western Colorado, a child of the Colorado River. For years, he worked abroad for the National Geographic Society and many other publications, exploring the important role water plays in the lives of people and wildlife. In 2008, he returned home to focus on his local river-the Colorado. Through his journey, McBride learned about the many demands on Colorado River water, and what the river says about life in the American West. He recently completed a film about his journey, The Colorado River: Flowing Through Conflict, and published a book by the same title.


Pete tells the story of the fate of one of our most iconic rivers, said John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. The Colorado helps define us as a nation, but it is also one of the most threatened rives in America.


In addition to McBrides talk, The Conservation Alliance Breakfast will feature a review of the grants the organization made during its Winter 2013 funding cycle, and successes that grantees have achieved with the funding. The Conservation Alliance Breakfast is open to the public.


The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.


Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $11.9 million to grassroots conservation groups. Alliance funding has helped save more than 41 million acres of wildlands; protect 2,700 miles of rivers; stop or remove 25 dams; designate five marine reserves; and purchase nine climbing areas.