U.S. Hut Alliance: a new community of practice

A U.S. Hut Alliance is now being born! Over a year ago I invited a group of U.S. hut professionals to join a zoom call to introduce them to Mick Abbott, a creative landscape architect, tramper and hut nut. The group enjoyed talking together and decided to continue meeting via zoom. As folks got to know each other the conversation quickly evolved into planning to form a U.S. Hut Alliance. Following is a quick update on progress so far. Once the group has laid the foundation for a national huts organization we will reach out to recruit members and broaden the conversation to include more hut folks.

The initial steering committee and officers currently working to establish the organization includes:

• Joe Dadey, Adirondacks Hamlets to Huts (Treasurer)

• Sam Demas, hut2hut.info

• Ben Dodge, Tenth Mountain Division Huts Association (Secretary/Treasurer)

• Mike Kautz, American Prairie Reserve (Vice-President)

• Bob Moore, Colorado Hut and Yurt Alliance

• Kelly Ryan, San Juan Huts

• Natalie Spencer, APX1 (President)

• Francie and Joe St. Onge, Sun Valley Mountain Huts

• RJ Thompson, Vermont Huts Association

Natalie Spencer, President

Mike Kautz, Vice President USHA

Ben Dodge, Secretary/Treasurer

Joe Dadey, Treasurer

This steering committee conducted a survey of all US hut owners to identify the most important services a U.S. Hut Alliance could provide. The topics identified by respondents, in order of priority were:

• Operations forums

• Best practices

• Studying economic impacts of huts

• Lobbying and acting as the public voice of huts

• Education and outreach

• Job board

• Getting together in person to discuss collaborations

• Joint services such as marketing, advertising, insurance policies, etc.

• Reservations platform(s)

• Linkage with international hut organizations

The overall purposes of the emerging U.S. Hut Alliance are to connect hut operators, support them on working on common interests, allow them to speak with one voice on key issues, and provide useful information and services. Based on these results and discussions in our monthly zoom conversations, the steering committee is currently working on:

• Bylaws (based on Colorado Alliance of Huts and Yurts);

• Established a Facebook page for members only;

• Mission, vision, and values statements;

• A strategic plan;

• Secure fiscal sponsorship (Summit Institute, Utah);

• Beginning a process for identifying and sharing best practices;

• Establish membership procedures and mechanisms for paying and playing; and

• Developing a web site to include the above (and more).

We hope to complete this scope of work in the coming months and be ready to expand the conversation. There will be many more issues to discuss over time as the organization grows, but we are confident we will be up and running in the year ahead. The timing is perfect as huts continue to increase in popularity and are attracting more attention from the outdoor recreation community, educators, conservationists and other land managers. Stay tuned!