It’s a new day, and we apologize for the delayed sunrise. Wend has gone through some major changes in the past few months, namely with respect to ownership. But it’s a good thing. Wend is now owned by its employees and readers, which will ensure our ability to be an independent voice in a world that so badly needs one.

We, the owners, are the very people who had a dream three years ago to bring a new kind of dialogue into the outdoor world. When we started this magazine, we did it because we recognized a major disconnect between how we (and you), as explorers of the world, view and treat the majesty of it. True adventure depends on the beauty of the natural world, yet too often in outdoor media, the impact of humans on the natural world isn’t addressed. Implicit in our vision is the belief that true love for the outdoors is the product of a sophisticated mindset and worldview, one that recognizes that for every step off the beaten path, we must take steps to make sure the path doesn’t get beaten. Wend aims to be the confluence of adventure, activism and inspiration, as we believe that without all these concepts working in concert, our experiences in the wild are incomplete—a storm waited out in a tent without a rainfly.

To further our mission, lots of new ideas are afoot for Wend. In this issue, we’re rolling out a new section called Platform. Wend has always donated advertising space to our environmental nonprofit partners, hoping that some free exposure in our publication will help them to further their goals for a cleaner, wilder planetary playground. But we’ve decided to augment this program with something a little different. Platform provides activists within these groups a, well, platform to write an essay about their personal experience of being involved, day to day, in the fight for a better world. In this issue, Emily Nuchols, communications manager for Save Our Wild Salmon, gives us a glimpse into the future of these noble fish and why she works tirelessly to protect them. Thanks, Emily.

We’re also making a bunch of improvements to the Web site, including the Wend store, called The Ecoboutique, which will feature earth-friendly outdoor products that we believe live up to their green claims, in order to help our readers to make informed choices when purchasing outdoor gear. Also, look for a new video section and Web-only content on our blog. Soon, too, we’ll be adding podcasts to our digital issue, where our readers will be able to download Wend’s stories and listen to the writers read them.

The past few months have been quite a challenge for us, but our entire staff is fiercely dedicated to making this baby go. We’re up to facing these challenges because you, our readers, have given us the inspiration to do so. And as of right now, we’ve only just begun.  –SJW