Kelty was awarded The Conservation Alliance’s 2017 Outstanding Partnership Award, presented at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2017 for the company’s continued contributions to Conservation Colorado, an environmental conservation organization executing preservation programs. Each year, awards are given to The Conservation Alliance member companies that go above and beyond in their support of grantees.

“We are committed to utilizing our platforms to support environmental conservation and to protect the lands upon which this industry depends,” said Eric Greene, vice president and general manager of Exxel Outdoors. “It is an honor to accept the Outstanding Partnership Award. We are privileged to work in the trenches with Conservation Colorado and The Conservation Alliance that make a clear difference every day in preservation in Colorado and nationwide.”

Kelty helped amplify the Conservation Colorado message by providing sponsorship and workers for major fundraisers and rallies, hosting lunch-and-learn events with staff, recruiting volunteers for community outdoor preservation and restoration initiatives and signing a letter of support for the Continental Divide Campaign that secured landscape-scale protections for conservation and recreation on 60,000 acres in Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains.

“We are proud to recognize Kelty with one of our Outstanding Partnership Awards for their efforts to support Conservation Colorado and their efforts to protect wildlands in Colorado,” said John Sterling, executive director of The Conservation Alliance. “Kelty co-founded The Conservation Alliance back in 1989, and they continue to go above-and-beyond today.”

Since its founding, The Conservation Alliance has contributed more than $18 million to grassroots conservation groups throughout North America, saved more than 50 million acres of wildlands, protected 2,991 miles of rivers, removed 29 dams, designated five marine reserves, and purchased 12 climbing areas. The Alliance now has more than 200 member companies and plans to disburse $1.8 million by the end of 2017.