GMO Mosquitoes To Be Released in Florida

In June 2020, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services gave the go-ahead to a plan to release millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys this summer to fight mosquito-borne illnesses.¹ The plan follows the EPA's recent granting of an experimental use permit (EUP) for the GMO (genetically modified organism) mosquitoes so they can be released in Florida in 2020 and in Texas in 2021.²

The mosquitoes, engineered from the Aedes aegypti mosquito species,³ were created by the U.S.-owned, Britain-based company Oxitec, which originated as a spin-off company from Oxford University and subsidiary of Intrexon.⁴ The company has also created genetically modified pink bollworm moths and GMO cabbage moths.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito species,⁵ also called A. aegypti, carries yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile and Mayaro,⁶ a dengue-like disease. (Malaria is transmitted by a different mosquito, Anopheles.⁷) In the U.S., Oxitec⁸ is marketing the insects as Oxitec Friendly™ mosquitoes that are a "safe, targeted vector control technology" to combat mosquito-transmitted diseases.⁹

Citizens Question GMO Mosquito Release

Despite the previous release of Oxitec's GMO mosquitos in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia, Panama and Brazil,¹⁰ questions remain about the GMO mosquitoes' effect on wildlife as well as unforeseen and uncontrollable "Jurassic Park-like" events that are feared once the insects are released and can't be "called back."

During the public comment period before the EPA's EUP authorization, 31,000 written comments were received. Many expressed concern about the GMO mosquito's effect on food webs and ecosystems and fears that the released mosquitoes could interbreed with wild insects, creating dangerous hybrid mosquitoes.¹¹

A similar concern about interbreeding with wild organisms accompanied the approval of GMO salmon by the FDA in 2015.¹² In 2016, residents of Key Haven, Florida, voted against the release of Oxitec GMO mosquitoes¹³ and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board abided by their wishes.¹⁴

Reclassification Gives Oxitec Mosquitoes a Boost

The history behind this is a tale of moves and countermoves. Originally, Oxitec had submitted their genetically-engineered mosquitoes for approval to APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service division of the USDA.¹⁵ But since mosquitoes aren’t considered to be pests on plants, the FDA took over Oxitec’s review under its regulations for GE animals.

Oxitec followed up with a petition to the FDA to release its mosquitoes in Florida.¹⁶ But, after Key Haven’s citizens rejected Oxitec’s request in November 2016, the FDA decided a few weeks later, in January 2017, to hand over the regulation of GE mosquitoes to the EPA — basically reclassifying the mosquitoes as an insecticide, a product the EPA oversees.¹⁷

The transfer was a huge win for Oxitec, as the EPA is required to review new pesticides quickly, within 12 months of submission. (The FDA, on the other hand, has no time lines on its approval process — something that Oxitec officials admitted had frustrated them for years.¹⁸) Oxitec got another boost in 2018 when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation decided to fund one of its other mosquitoes, for malaria, to the tune of $4.1 million.¹⁹

After the hand over to the EPA, Oxitec wasted no time in resubmitting its request to release mosquitoes in Florida, as well as Texas — and won the EPA’s approval. Now, as a GMO mosquito release again approaches, angry Florida residents say they refuse to be treated as "guinea pigs" for a "superbug," "Robo-Frankenstein" mosquito.

Well-funded GMO-backed PR campaigns are rushing to assure Floridians that the GMO mosquito doesn't bite.²⁰

Mosquitoes Kill More People Than Any Other Creature

There was a time when people who lived in the U.S. thought of mosquitoes as just annoying insects whose itchy bites could be an impediment to enjoying summer nights. But with the emergence of West Nile, Zika and the spreading of Saint Louis encephalitis²¹ in the U.S., Americans now realize, like their counterparts in warmer nations, that mosquitoes can and do kill.

In addition to the diseases caused by A. aegypti, other mosquitoes transmit chikungunya,²² which can cause debilitating joint pain,²³ and lymphatic filariasis, a disease that dwells in the human lymph system.²⁴ Taken together, mosquitoes kill more people than any other creature in the world.²⁵ According to the Independent:²⁶

"Yes, mosquitoes — the pesky bugs that suck blood and transmit viruses from person to person — are responsible for the most animal-related deaths (830,000 per year to be exact). For comparison, humans are responsible for 580,000 human deaths per year, snakes account for 60,000 deaths per year and sharks claimed just six lives per year."

In 2015, dengue sickened 1.5 million people in Brazil alone, including 1,600 in the city of Piracicaba located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.²⁷ The United Nations estimated that in Africa, mosquito nets could save 500,000 lives a year.²⁸

Deadly mosquito-borne diseases are also getting worse, in part because of climate change, according to an article in Yale Environment 360, a publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.²⁹

"[A]n international team of researchers has found that by 2050, two key disease-spreading mosquitoes — Aedes aegypti [the species that Oxitec engineered] and Aedes albopictus — will significantly expand their range, posing a threat to 49 percent of the world’s population.

'If no action is taken to reduce the current rate at which the climate is warming, pockets of habitat will open up across many urban areas with vast amounts of individuals susceptible to infection,' said Moritz Kraemer, an infectious disease scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital and the University of Oxford and a co-author of the new research."

Oxitec's GMO Mosquitoes Are Not New

Oxitec's first release of GMO mosquitoes was in the Cayman Islands in 2009.³⁰ Critics charged that the company rushed a GMO organism into use without informing or consulting the public, but Oxitec reported a 96% reduction in the mosquito population in a small release area in the islands.³¹

Oxitec also conducted GMO mosquito tests in Panama and Malaysia, but its showcase project was in Brazil, resulting from a collaboration with the University of São Paulo and the nonprofit research facility Moscamed.³² In three treated Brazilian neighborhoods, Oxitec reported a 90% mosquito population reduction.³³

Brazil was chosen as a primary location for "a major scale-up" and "proving ground for tailored mosquitoes" because of the nation's high dengue fever rates and the ineffectiveness of pesticides against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, wrote Science magazine.³⁴

Pesticide resistance in Brazil was verified when some of Oxitec's lab-grown GMO mosquitoes perished in Brazil upon release because they "had never been exposed to insecticides [and were] so much less resistant to them than wild mosquitoes." wrote the magazine.³⁵

The GMO mosquitoes, all male, have an inserted gene in their DNA that contains a "self-destruct mechanism."³⁶ The gene creates "tetracycline repressible activator variant," or tTAV, a protein that inhibits other genes in the insect and causes it to die before it reaches adulthood if it does not receive tetracycline.³⁷

However, because the GMO mosquitoes are given the antibiotic tetracycline in the lab, they survive to maturity and can mate with wild female mosquitoes and pass along the self-destruct genes so future females will not survive to breed.³⁸ According to Oxitec:³⁹

"… when Friendly™ mosquito males mate with wild females, their offspring inherit a copy of this gene, which prevents females from surviving to adulthood. Since these females do not mature to reproduce, there is a reduction in the wild pest population."

According to the EPA, the effects of the Friendly mosquito should be "multigenerational" and reduce the Aedes aegypti mosquito populations in areas where it is released.⁴⁰ The EPA insists it won’t pose risks:⁴¹

"Since only male mosquitoes will be released into the environment and they do not bite people, they will not pose a risk to people. It is also anticipated that there would be no adverse effects to animals such as bats and fish in the environment."

Many See Risks With Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes

Because the mosquitoes need tetracycline to survive, doctors addressing the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board expressed concern that the insects could promote tetracycline-resistant organisms. Key West physician Dr. John Norris said:⁴²

“These insects are designed to get into people’s houses and cause the extinction of whatever Aedes live there, but the bacteria they leave behind is left to breed because it has no death chain.

No physician is going to stand in front of you and speak negatively against the GMs, but … [t]here was a real mistake made, in my humble opinion, when they used an antibiotic as the maturation factor to an organism designed to get into people’s houses and deposit whatever else was along for the ride.”

Dr. Norris is right. Moreover, since the GMO mosquitoes were designed to die in the absence of tetracycline and the assumption was that they would not have access to the antibiotic in the wild, there is another problem.

Tetracycline and other antibiotics are now often found in soil and surface water because of their overuse, especially in farming. This could potentially create a nightmarish scenario — especially since the EPA has approved Florida and Texas citrus growers’ use of tetracycline to fight invasive bacterial infections in their groves.⁴³

Writing in the Boston Globe, Natalie Kofler, founder of Editing Nature and an adviser for the Scientific Citizenship Initiative at Harvard Medical School, and Jennifer Kuzma, professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, stated the GMO mosquito should not be released until much more thorough study is conducted:⁴⁴

"For starters, an external independent group of experts should be convened to review the first GM mosquitoes … To address the complexity of such a decision, this group should consist of interdisciplinary experts representing diverse identities with expertise in ecology, genetics, vector biology, risk assessment, entomology, public health, ethics, and social science.

External peer review is a cornerstone of good science and could ensure that all necessary risks are being addressed."

Environmental Groups Plan to Sue

The EPA has said it will have Oxitec monitor the GMO mosquito release to assure safety.⁴⁵

"Oxitec is required to monitor and sample the mosquito population weekly in the treatment areas to determine how well the product works for mosquito control and to confirm that the modified genetic traits disappear from the male Aedes aegypti mosquito population over time.

EPA has also maintained the right to cancel the EUP at any point during the 24-month period if unforeseen outcomes occur."

Of course, canceling the EUP won't remove the already released GMO mosquitoes. Meanwhile, the Center for Food Safety, the International Center for Technology Assessment and Friends of the Earth say they plan to sue the EPA for failing to consult with wildlife agencies before determining the mosquitoes to be risk-free.⁴⁶

In a letter to the heads of the U.S. EPA, the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service, the groups wrote:⁴⁷

"EPA’s 'no effect' findings and failure to consult are arbitrary and capricious and violate the ESA [Endangered Species Act] because they fail to follow the ESA’s mandated procedures, fail to use the best scientific and commercial data available, fail to consider significant aspects of the issue, and offer an explanation that runs counter to the evidence."

There is a reason that careful study is part of the Endangered Species Act. Mutations and behavioral adaptations to human interventions occur in nature and cannot be predicted.

For example, National Geographic recounted that "different species of mosquitoes have changed their predatory behavior to outside and earlier in the day in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Tanzania," as a response to insecticides.⁴⁸ In another instance, wrote National Geographic:

"… a fascinating study in behavioral resistance is the corn rootworm, an insect that lays its eggs in cornfields so larvae will come up the next year and feast on the roots. Farmers evaded it by rotating crops so what was a cornfield one year will be soybeans the next.

By the 1990s, however … rootworms had changed — instead of hatching every year, one species was hatching every other year, to be there when the corn returned. Another species was leaping into neighboring soybean fields to wait for them to take their turn as cornfields in the next season."

The GMO Mosquito Plan Is Too Dangerous

While engineering insects to stop the spread of mosquito-transmitted diseases might sound preferable to insecticides and vaccines, there are too many unknowns.

At present, the use of GMO insects is in its infancy. Not only are there no precedents from which to draw potential ecological consequences, proper risk assessments have not been done — and quite possibly might be impossible to conduct, considering the many unknown aspects of tinkering with DNA and allowing it to mingle with other species.⁴⁹

What will be the effect on native species like Florida Keys bats that eat mosquitoes? Are any studies investigating whether the GMO mosquitoes will harm the native bat population? Will the more virulent Asian tiger mosquito, that also carries dengue, fill the void left by reductions in A. aegypti caused by the GMO mosquito and become even more dangerous? Serious questions remain.

In a study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, researchers attempted to identify potential ecological effects of GMO insects and cited concerning developments that could occur.⁵⁰

"For instance, if vector populations were suppressed, a reduction in acquired immunity could cause a transient increase in disease incidence, a phenomenon which is not necessarily unique to GE control strategies. Disease incidence may ultimately subside, but a transient increase could have significant implications for risk management and communication.

Conversely, identifying effects occurring in the steady state phase highlighted effects that might result as the ecosystem adjusts to the changed population. For GE mosquitoes, this might include evolution of increased vector capacity, or knock-on effects through the ecosystem, which might harm valued ecological interactions."

The authors conclude there are disturbing unknowns about GMO mosquitoes.

"[I]n evaluating GE mosquitoes, the knowledge gaps in mosquito ecology are striking … particularly with respect to mosquito effects on consumer and resource species. Data and theory on ecological hysteresis in insect communities are also lacking, which makes it difficult to assess whether any changes are irreversible."

Genetic engineering of plants and animals is a dangerous prospect. We’re already seeing "super weeds" and resistance drift arising from the use of GMO crops, an unintended consequence that GMO critics predicted and that could easily have been foreseen. Similarly, resistant super pests are spreading across American farmland and wreaking havoc, while the human health concerns keep mounting.

Genetic engineering of plants and animals may be lucrative to the biotech companies that invent and patent them but they are no answer to farm pests or, in this case, the prevention of mosquito-transmitted diseases.

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Is Nasal Irrigation More Important Than Hand-Washing?

By now, you probably understand the importance of hand-washing to prevent the spread of infectious illness. But did you know flushing your sinuses might be an even better way to inhibit the progression of a viral illness such as COVID-19? In an April 20, 2020, article,¹ MSN’s Best Life features the recommendations of Dr. Amy Baxter, a pediatric emergency medicine physician in Atlanta, Georgia.

Nasal irrigation, she says, is a rarely discussed strategy that can help reduce the progression of illness in those who have tested positive for COVID-19 infection. In an April 2, 2020, response² to a BMJ paper about the lack of personal protection equipment on COVID-19 frontlines, professor Robert Matthews also brought up the importance and potential usefulness of oropharyngeal washing to protect health care workers from infection. As reported by MSN Best Life:³

“Nasal irrigation, or a nasal wash, has long been considered an effective way to remove viruses or bacteria from sinus cavities. Baxter has multiple reasons for believing that this approach can be effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus from worsening in a sick patient.”

Why Nasal Irrigation?

As noted by Baxter, researchers have found that the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 tends to be heaviest in the sinuses and nasal cavity. Regularly rinsing your sinuses therefore makes sense since it would help clear out the pathogen and prevent it from gaining a strong foothold and migrating into your lungs.

The age and gender discrepancies observed in COVID-19 also supports nasal irrigation. Children are at virtually no risk from COVID-19, while death rates among the elderly are at their highest. More men than women also die from the infection. 

“Children don't develop full sinuses until teens; males have larger cavities than women, and the cavities are largest [in those] over 70 years,” Baxter notes.

Research has previously demonstrated that nasal irrigation reduces the symptoms and duration of other viral illnesses such as the seasonal flu and common cold.

In one randomized controlled trial,⁴ nasal irrigation and gargling with hypertonic saline were found to reduce the duration of the common cold by 1.9 days and reduce transmission within the household by 35% by reducing viral shedding when done within 48 hours of symptom onset.

While it has not yet been studied as a preventive method for COVID-19 specifically, there’s reason to suspect nasal irrigation might be helpful.

Baxter points out that COVID-19 death rates in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Laos have been surprisingly low, and nasal irrigation is common practice in those areas. According to Baxter, some 80% of the Southeast Asian population do it.

How to Irrigate Your Sinuses

Baxter suggests irrigating your sinuses any time you’ve been exposed to an infected individual or test positive for COVID-19. She recommends flushing your sinuses in the morning using a mixture of boiled lukewarm water (8 ounces) and povidone-iodine (half a teaspoon).

Povidone-iodine has been shown to effectively kill not only Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, but to also rapidly inactivate SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, H1N1 influenza virus A and rotavirus after 15 seconds of exposure.⁵

The mixture used in this study — 7% povidone-iodine diluted 1-to-30, which equates to a total concentration of 0.23% povidone-iodine — inactivated over 99% of the coronaviruses causing SARS and MERS.

Either a neti pot or NeilMed sinus rinse bottle can be used. The water pressure you get from a sinus rinse bottle can provide a more effective flush. If higher pressure is uncomfortable, a neti pot, which relies on gravity, may be a more comfortable choice. In the evening, Baxter recommends flushing your sinuses again with a mixture of:

• 8 ounces of boiled lukewarm water
• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt

Gargling May Also Be Helpful

You may also be able to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 migrating into your lungs by gargling. As noted by Dr. Neal Naito in a March 29, 2020, New York Times article,⁶ while there’s “no firm proof” that gargling can prevent COVID-19, there are virtually no downsides to the advice.

Like Baxter, Naito points out that many East Asian countries such as Japan see gargling as a commonsense hygiene practice.

“In East Asia, particularly in Japan, gargling is strongly encouraged by the national government, along with other practices like hand-washing, wearing face masks and social distancing, as a matter of routine hygiene during the regular cold and flu season.

(Not everyone, though, can gargle effectively, including some people with neck pain, stroke or dementia, as well as children generally under the age of 8.) Most of the early studies⁷ suggesting that gargling may help to prevent and treat upper and lower respiratory infections, not surprisingly, come from Japan,” Naito writes.

An over-the-counter povidone-iodine⁸ oral gargle solution, used for decades by the Japanese for the treatment of sore throat, appears most useful. One small study⁹ from Japan, published in 2002, found patients diagnosed with chronic respiratory disease who gargled with a povidone-iodine solution at least four times a day reduced their incidence of acute respiratory infection by about 50%.

Do Not Use Iodine-Based Skin Disinfectant for Gargling

Importantly, Naito stresses that povidone-iodine solutions sold as skin disinfectants are NOT suitable for gargling as they contain potentially harmful ingredients that should not be ingested.

“It’s critical that people not gargle with skin disinfectant solutions, including those that contain povidone-iodine,” he says. So, when using povidone-iodine for gargling, be sure to look for solutions such as Betadine formulated specifically as a sore throat gargle, not products intended for cuts and wound care.

Nebulized Hydrogen Peroxide — Another Prevention Strategy

While gargling and nasal irrigation may certainly be useful, I believe nebulizing hydrogen peroxide or colloidal silver may be even more effective. Dr. Thomas Levy¹⁰ has issued guidance¹¹ on how to use nebulized hydrogen peroxide for the prevention and treatment of viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19.

0.5% hydrogen peroxide effectively inactivated a range of human coronaviruses, including those responsible for SARS and MERS, within one minute of exposure.

To inactivate viruses with hydrogen peroxide, all you need is a face mask that covers your mouth and nose and a nebulizer that emits a fine mist with properly diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide.

Typically, food grade peroxide comes in concentrations of 12%, which must be diluted down to 1% or less before use, as described in the chart below and video above. If you are using 3% hydrogen peroxide, then you would multiply the number in the first column by 4, or divide the second column by 4.

The microscopic mist, similar to smoke or vapor, can be comfortably inhaled deep into your nostrils, sinuses and lungs. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) consists of a water molecule (H₂O) with an extra oxygen atom, and it is the additional oxygen atom that allows it to inactivate viral pathogens.

Coronaviruses are held together by a lipid (fat) envelope. Soap, being amphipathic¹² — meaning it can dissolve most molecules — dissolves this fat membrane, causing the virus to fall apart and become harmless.

Hydrogen peroxide works in a similar way. You can find more details about the mechanism of action in my previous article, “Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus?”

Some of your immune cells actually produce hydrogen peroxide to destroy pathogens. By killing the infected cell, viral reproduction is stopped. So, hydrogen peroxide therapy is in essence only aiding your immune cells to perform their natural function more effectively.

Hydrogen peroxide is also a key redox signaling agent that creates oxidative eustress.¹³ Contrary to oxidative stress or oxidative distress, oxidative eustress denotes an oxidative challenge that has positive or beneficial effects and is essential in redox signaling.

Many studies have looked into the use of hydrogen peroxide against different pathogens. One of the most relevant is a review¹⁴ of 22 studies, published in March 2020 in the Journal of Hospital Infection. They found 0.5% hydrogen peroxide effectively inactivated a range of human coronaviruses, including those responsible for SARS and MERS, within one minute of exposure.

If you’re already presenting with a runny nose or sore throat, Levy recommends using the nebulizer for 10 to 15 minutes four times a day until your symptoms are relieved. You can also use nebulized hydrogen peroxide for prevention and maintenance, which may be advisable during flu season, or while the COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing. According to Levy:¹⁵

“As it is a completely non-toxic therapy, nebulization can be administered as often as desired. If done on a daily basis at least once, a very positive impact on bowel and gut function will often be realized as killing the chronic pathogen colonization present in most noses and throats stops the 24/7 swallowing of these pathogens and their associated toxins.

If daily prevention is not a practical option, the effectiveness of this treatment is optimized when somebody sneezes in your face or you finally get off of the plane after a trans-Atlantic flight. Don’t wait for initial symptoms. Just nebulize at your first opportunity.”

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National Heat Safety Month

July is a time for sunshine, swimsuits and serious sweat sessions. It’s also a time to make sure we all stay cool, covered and safe. That’s why MISSION Instant Cooling Gear and their proathlete founders are dedicated to spreading the importance of National Heat Safety Month this July.

Co-founder Chris Valletta, former NFL player, experienced heat related illness during his college and professional football playing days — so this initiative is personal for him.

Mission is so passionate about Heat Safety they invested in The Mission Heat Safety Lab at UConn’s Korey Stringer Institute. Mission products have been tested on athletes with state-of-the-art equipment like high speed treadmills, advanced bike ergometers and a comprehensive physiological monitoring system — so you know these items are legit!

“Mission and the Heat Safety Coalition has the ultimate goal of improving heat safety in the consumer and industrial settings. These cooling products are a vehicle to get there.” —Dr. Casa, CEO, Korey Stringer Institute, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Director, Athletic Training Education.

 

SAFETY TIPS FOR SUMMER WORKOUTS

Here are some tips to stay fit, cool and most importantly safe this summer with Mission Cooling Gear.

 

TIP 1# RUNNER’S PARADISE

Don’t forget to wear a MISSION Cooling Performance Hat to block the sun and try to avoid running outside between 10 AM and 4 PM when the sun is strongest.

TIP #2 BACKYARD FAMILY BOOTCAMP

Look for a shaded area where you can all get a little family fitness in! Make sure to arm the entire family with MISSION Cooling Towels. Their brushed microfiber cools instantly.

TIP #3 DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Even moderate workouts like taking your furry BFF Gaiter to stay safe for a stroll are more intense during the summer months. Rock this MISSION Gaiter to stay safe and cool. And don’t forget water for you and your pet.

Mission Cooling Gear available at Walmart, The Home Depot, Target, CVS and Mission.com

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An Elevated Spirit

Everyone has their spirit of choice, but not many can say that theirs comes with added health benefits. If tequila isn’t your favorite spirit, you may want to rethink your go-to drink.

100% agave tequila is one of the cleanest liquors out there and, when consumed in moderation, can actually improve your overall health. So, drink up (responsibly, that is) and enjoy in more ways than one.

LOW CAL + GLUTEN FREE

For the calorie conscious, tequila is the way to go with around 60 kcal per shot — much lower than wine, champagne and hard seltzers. 100% agave tequila is also gluten free and even helps aid in digestion by promoting growth of good bacteria.

GOOD VIBES ONLY

Contrary to other spirits, tequila is an upper rather than a downer, so it’s more likely to elevate your mood. It also contains less congeners (fermented products found in most spirits), which is much less likely to give you a hangover the next day.

SWEET DREAMS

Relaxation and calming are also some of the positive effects of tequila. A small amount before bedtime can reportedly help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

Shutterstock

100 COCONUTS: A NATURAL TURN UP

Ready to turn up and reap some bonus health benefits? 100 Coconuts has infused 100% agave tequila into their delicious 100% Pure Coconut Water for the best results you could ask for in a cocktail. Enjoyed in moderation, you can sip your way to good health all summer long! www.100coconuts.com

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Why the Great American Outdoors Act Matters

During this pandemic-prolonged absence of competitive sports, we can at least count on C-SPAN for a daily dose of distraction and entertainment. The cutthroat arena of political MMA that can only be viewed in the U.S. Senate recently produced a real-world underdog tale for the ages with longstanding implications for outdoor aficionados of all walks.

Earlier this month, the notoriously gridlocked chamber took a major step toward attaining what many consider the Holy Grail of conservation legislation in the modern era. Known as the Great American Outdoors Act, the landmark legislative package—one that provides unprecedented benefits to the nation’s system of public lands—passed through the Senate with a rare showing of bipartisan support. The anticipated slam dunk victory now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives and eventually the Oval Office for the president’s signature.

Should the bill emerge triumphant, it’s the American public that will ultimately reap the spoils. Everyone from hikers to hunters, bikers to boaters, plus millions more who enjoy access to America’s 640 million acres of national public lands for countless other outdoor activities, will be rewarded with increased opportunities and improved infrastructure as they pursue their passions. And in states like Colorado, where the culture is largely rooted in public lands recreation, the ripple effect is expected to make an even bigger impact.

“Colorado’s public lands drive our businesses—from breweries and restaurants, to bike shops and fly-fishing guides—and inspire our adventures with family and friends,” said Steve Fechheimer, CEO of New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, CO. “The passage of GAOA is an incredible milestone in ensuring protections for our environment, our economy and our well-being.”

15 National Forests Perfect for Your Next Camping Trip

So What’s in the GAOA?

More than 20 years in the making, the Great American Outdoors Act (S.3422 ) ultimately combines two pieces of public lands legislation. The first piece, dubbed the Restore our Parks Act, establishes a five-year trust generated by revenues from energy development that provides up to $1.9 billion a year to begin addressing the more than $22 billion worth of maintenance backlogs at national parks and other public lands across the country. That includes everything from road and trail maintenance to facility improvements and even wildlife habitat.

The second piece fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) used to buy and improve public land. The fund, which is supposed to receive $900 million a year from offshore drilling royalties, is regularly raided by legislators and has only been fully funded twice since it was established in 1964.

Throughout its history, LWCF funds have been used to acquire and improve public lands in every county of every state, everything from New York’s Central Park to Yellowstone National Park.

 

When Does It Take Effect?

Once the bill is signed into law by the president, full funding begins in fiscal year 2021. The LWCF has used money from offshore oil and gas drilling royalties to conserve our public lands and waters across the country for more than 50 years already, and legislation passed in 2019 guaranteed that $900 million will be collected for the fund every year. The GAOA ensures that the money will go to its intended purpose.

The GAOA also establishes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, providing federal land management agencies with critical resources to address the deferred maintenance backlog on our public lands. The fund receives 50 percent of unallocated revenues generated from energy development on federal lands and waters, providing up to $9.5 billion over five years beginning in FY2021 through FY2025.

100 Years Strong: Why Zion National Park Endures

Paddling lakes along northern Maine’s Allagash Waterway. Kate Sfeir / Shutterstock

Who Benefits From It?

From rock climbers in Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to paddlers on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine, just about anyone who enjoys outdoor recreation has seen benefits from the LWCF, and those benefits will increase with the implementation of the GAOA.

Notably, the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund portion of the act promises funding for federal land management agencies above and beyond the National Parks Service. While the NPS will receive 70 percent of the funding ($1.3 billion a year), the remainder will be split between the U.S. Forest Service ($285 million), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($95 million), Bureau of Land Management ($95 million) and Bureau of Indian Education ($95 million) to fund habitat improvement projects and other maintenance backlogs in those agencies.

“The National Parks Service maintenance backlog is the biggest part of it, but the rest of it is substantial too,” said Corey Fisher of Trout Unlimited’s Sportsmen’s Conservation Project. “The places that are most important to hunters and anglers are managed by the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, not the National Parks. So it was super important to groups like TU to have those included.”

Additionally, the LWCF provides matching grants to states and local governments to acquire and develop public outdoor recreation areas and facilities that provide close-to-home recreation opportunities that are readily accessible to youth, adults, senior citizens and the physically or mentally challenged in urban and rural communities.

The 10 Best National Parks for Summer Adventure

Why It Matters Now:

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has long been recognized as the most powerful program we have for conserving habitat and opening access to the nation’s most precious natural resources, and its guaranteed funding couldn’t come at a more critical time. President Trump had nearly zeroed out the money for the LWCF in budgets he’d submitted to congress in recent years, only recently coming around in favor of the program that Senate bill sponsor Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) claims supports between 16-30 jobs for every million spent in LWCF funds. Fixing the national parks promises to create as many as 100,000 additional jobs, making the Great American Outdoors Act an essential economic recovery tool that also enhances our public lands and outdoor recreation opportunities.

“The Great American Outdoors Act is an enormous victory for public lands and for rural economies here in the Mountain West,” said Teresa Martinez, Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. “It will address vital needs on our trails and forests. It will create jobs. And by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund, it will be absolutely critical to our efforts to complete the Continental Divide Trail.”

 

Why It Matters in the Long Run:

The Great American Outdoors Act offers a sustainable funding solution that expands and protects valuable public lands from the impacts of overuse destined to exacerbation over time. While their popularity continues to grow, America’s national parks and public lands have been underfunded and understaffed for decades. And as urban populations swell, local outdoor recreation opportunities remain in decline, increasing barriers of entry to fundamental activities like hiking, biking and fishing that have emerged as critical ingredients in the recipe for both mental and physical health.

“With the pandemic shining a bright light on the need for equitable access to natural spaces, securing LWCF permanent funding and tackling a substantial portion of the public lands maintenance backlog will greatly increase recreation opportunities on public lands and in neighborhoods across the country, including those that have historically lacked access,” said Kate Van Waes, Executive Director of the American Hiking Society. “The House of Representatives must quickly take up and pass this legislation and send it to the president to be signed into law.”

What You Need to Know About the Public Lands Dingell Act

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Amid Pandemic, Too Many Americans Are Hesitating to Call 911

Fear of getting COVID-19 at hospitals and not wanting to burden health care facilities with non-COVID-19 issues might account for these findings

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FBI: Beware of Scammers Selling Fake COVID-19 Antibody Tests

The FBI said fraudsters are also trying to get people's personal information as well as personal health information

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Sleeping In on Weekends Won't Erase Your 'Sleep Debt'

Only 18% of severely sleep-deprived men and women were able to bank enough sleep to make up for chronic weekday sleep deficiencies.

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Contact Tracer Teams Growing Amid New Challenges

Contact tracing, along with strategic testing, rapid isolation, and supportive quarantine, is an vital way of slowing the spread of the virus, which has been diagnosed in 2.6 million people nationwide and likely has infected millions more, say public health experts.

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Pilgrim's Pride Chicken Nuggets Recalled

The products, which were shipped to stores in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Texas, have the establishment number "P-20728" printed on individual retail packages as well as product cases.

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New Swine Flu Poses Possible Pandemic Risk

The G4 virus is genetically descended from the H1N1 swine flu that caused a pandemic in 2009, CNN reported.

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The Most Epic and Remote Adventures to Experience on All 7 Continents

When travel becomes more ubiquitous (and safe) again, you’ll likely want to prioritize remote adventures. We found the most epic trips on all seven continents, from Ethiopia to Italy and beyond to give you some inspiration.

The Most Epic and Remote Adventures to Experience on All 7 Continents

Tuscany, Italy: An Adventure Renaissance

Even just saying the word Tuscany feels relaxing. But don’t mistake this part of Italy for being only about vineyard tours and villa escapes. The region has long been an under-the-radar haven for plucky Italians seeking out an adrenaline buzz, as I learned last year.

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Mountain ranges like the dramatic Apuan Alps, which rise 6,000 feet from the Mediterranean Sea, and dormant volcanoes like Monte Amiata provide thrilling downhill mountain-bike runs and networks of forest hikes. There are quiet roads and gravel trails for road cycling, plenty of crags and ridges for climbing, and even canyoneering in narrow river canyons. Tuscany also has 140 miles of coastline for sailing, kayaking, or SUP-ing. Best of all, the region is chock-full of geothermal activity, meaning it’s littered with (mostly free) hot springs like those in the town of Saturnia, where hot sulfur pools are perfect for sore muscles. And yeah, there’s no shortage of vino to relax with, too. — Yvonne Gordon

1. Bike Parking

Monte Amiata ski resort has a beech forest with, come summer, 22 miles of downhill trails. Stay at the Hotel Le Macinaie ($55 per night), across from a local bike park.

The grounds at 14th-century Villa Barberino in Tuscany Courtesy of Villa Barberino

2. Estate Planning

If you’re headed to Tuscany, R&R is a must at some point, and there’s no better place than Villa Barberino, which dates to the 14th century and has a pool and gardens overlooking a peaceful valley.

Ligurian Sea coastline Yvonne Gordon

3. An Elba Escape

The Ligurian Sea coastline is stunning, with the Tuscan Archipelago’s seven islands just offshore. You can sail to the largest, Elba, by taking a boat from Piombino, then hike to the top of 3,343-foot Monte Capanne. It may be the Mediterranean’s best view.

Iberá Nature Reserve’s wetlands in Argentina Rafael Abuin

Iberá Nature Reserve: Rewilding in Remote Argentina

This winter, while snapping a photo of a caiman—basically a South American alligator—in northern Argentina’s Iberá Nature Reserve, I was reminded of why this part of the world is so, well, wild. While stretching out my arm to snap a pic of the animal, which was maybe 10 feet away, I realized that my extended hand was hovering a foot above an even bigger caiman, obscured by the water. I nearly upended the kayak recoiling at its murky marble eyes.

But instead of chomping the iPhone out of my hand—and my arm along with it—it didn’t even seem to notice me. And that was my experience with nearly all of the animals I witnessed: curiosity rather than concern. This was undisturbed nature, where human presence is a novelty—and a sign that years of dedicated conservation work has paid off.

New Iberá National Park Is the Largest Protected Nature Area in Argentina

Iberá, a labyrinth of forests, grasslands, and shallow lagoons, is one of the world’s largest wetlands. Yet its name barely even registered two years ago, when a huge swath of it became a national park. Now tourists are catching on that there’s a swampy slice of Argentina that’s ripe for safari-style adventures to see giant anteaters, marsh deer, and capybaras, the world’s largest rodents.

Iberá may soon be one of the best places to see jaguars in the wild Karina Sporring

When I arrived after an overnight bus ride from Buenos Aires, the sun burst out of the pancake-flat wetlands as we raced rheas, a cousin of the ostrich, down red-dirt roads. The HQ for the nonprofit behind Iberá is Rincón del Socorro, a grand old estancia outfitted with timber furnishings and thick-framed animal portraits on the walls. It is the creation of Kris Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia, and her late husband, Doug, the co-founder of The North Face. Together, over two decades, they acquired private land that was ultimately donated to the federal government to create the park.

What were once rice fields and cattle ranches is now ground zero for the largest and most ambitious rewilding project in the Americas. Five locally extinct or endangered native species—including the pampas deer, giant anteater, and green-winged macaw—have been reintroduced since work began in 2007. The project will enter its next phase this year when as many as five young jaguars are released on the remote San Alonso Island. It’ll be the first time in over half a century that the wild cats have roamed this part of Argentina.

THIS IS UNDISTURBED NATURE, WHERE HUMAN PRESENCE IS A NOVELTY.

The project’s communications director, Rafael Abuin Aido, says that reintroducing the apex predator will be the ultimate test of the ecosystem’s health. If it works, he says, “Iberá has the potential to become the best destination in the world to see a jaguar in the wild.”

While staying there, I contented myself with evening paddles to the floating reed islands of Fernández Lagoon, where I tracked marsh deer and stumbled upon capybara mud baths. Mornings, I hiked along the 6.5-mile Sendero Lobo Cua, which skirts through a palm forest pulsating with the guttural roars of howler monkeys.

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The air in the park was thick and herbaceous. More than once, I was tempted to dip my feet into one of Iberá’s 75 lagoons, but then thought better of it, remembering stories I heard in the lodge of old hunters who cooled off in the waters only to reemerge half-eaten by piranhas. Yes, this is unspoiled nature—in all its savage beauty. — Mark Johanson

A family in the Dassanech tribe outside their home. Chris Tinkler

Omo River, Ethiopia: Camping With Remote Tribes

When your dance partner has an AK-47, you choose your moves carefully. I learned this on my fourth night in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, where a local people, the Mursi—known for the plates the women put in their lips—have decided to throw an impromptu dance party. A bonfire is ablaze, and a circle forms. I don’t understand the words of the songs, but I clap along to the rhythm. It doesn’t take long before a statuesque man, face painted white, approaches and begins to stamp the butt of his gun at my feet. I look around alarmed, then realize that this is the Mursi gesture for “Do you want to dance?”

Only a tiny number of travelers—just a few thousand—come to the Omo Valley each year, and the majority descend on markets and villages east of the Omo River to snap a few photos of the area’s famously adorned tribes (and often pay for the privilege). Then there are the 50 or so visitors, like myself, who take a boat to the remote, crocodile-infested Omo Delta and stay at Lale’s Camp, the only seasonal tourist camp in the valley. The fig-shaded camp—a sustainable tourism collaboration between outfitter Journeys by Design, Wild Expeditions, and Lale Biwa, a member of the local Kara people—offers what may be Africa’s most unique cultural experience: one where village life goes on around you, not for you.

The REASON TRAVEL IS SO TRANSFORMATIVE IS NOT THE LOCATION: IT’S THE PEOPLE.

A trip to the area starts in the capital of Addis Ababa, followed by a charter flight to the Omo Valley. After a boat ride up the river, seven spacious tents await, each equipped with running water, electricity, and flush toilets. It’s a cushy base for being so remote, but the real luxury is the location next to Dus, one of three settlements belonging to the Kara community. When our boat docks at Lale’s Camp, dozens of curious children escort me to shore, where a body-painting ceremony is already taking place. The adults, so engrossed in drawing ocher dots and charcoal stripes on each other, barely acknowledge my presence.

During my five-day stay, I also visit neighboring communities. A 4×4 ride from Lale’s Camp to a nearby Hamar village doubles as a wildlife safari, with Lale pointing out a leopard tortoise and dik-diks, tiny African antelopes. Similar to the Kara, the Hamar are known for decorating themselves with elaborate beads and body paint. Lale invites me into a hut where the men are passing around a gourd filled with a fermented brew. The homemade hooch is a staple of the Kara’s bull-jumping ceremony, a rite of passage where young men run naked over the backs of bulls lined up in a row.

To meet the Mursi, we travel three hours upriver by boat to a no-frills camp.

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The Mursi walk eight hours down from the mountains and set up camp alongside us. In return for this meeting, Lale has brought them razor blades (used for scarification), food, and other supplies. The morning after our dance party, while walking among our hosts, I notice the women giggling while mimicking my terrible dancing. When one girl slips a plate into her stretched-out lower lip, I instinctually grab for my iPhone, then stop. Photos are discouraged here to help prevent locals from pandering to people like me. But the practice is beneficial to tourists, too. Standing there laughing with the women would not have been possible if I was focusing my gaze through a lens. Instead, I was able to fully immerse myself, to laugh along with them.

The reason travel is so transformative, after all, is not the location. It’s the people we meet and our candid interactions with them—even if it’s only through smiles, gestures, and, yes, some bad dance moves. — Jen Murphy

Whales chuffing through the channel near Deception Island, off the northern tip of Antarctica Ben Wallis

Antarctic Peninsula: Sailing the Coast of the Last Continent

Deception Island, off the northern tip of Antarctica, must count as one of the planet’s most freakish places. The hulls of 1900s whaling boats rest in the black sand while big blubber boilers fade on the beach like props in a steampunk dream. It’s a doughnut of land, a flooded caldera with a bay in the center where the active volcano there once heated the water high enough to strip the paint off ships.

A trip to this part of the Antarctic Peninsula—an 800-mile-long pinkie ringed with crabeater seals, chinstrap penguins, and colossal ice—is all about the boat, and ours was exceptional. The SV Australis was a 75-foot yacht with just 11 souls aboard, and Deception was one of the first stops on a 17-day journey. While using the ship, operated by outfitter Natural Habitat Adventures, as our floating home base, we paddled around icebergs glowing an alien green in Paradise Harbor.

Adélie penguins standing along Antarctic Peninsula Colin McNulty

We took Zodiacs to rocky beaches for snoozes in the sun. With no real schedule to keep, we’d cut the engines to listen to minke whales chuffing through the channel and camped for a night on a dollop of ice no bigger than a rink.

In the end, though, simply being onboard proved the most memorable. Many afternoons I’d climb into the crow’s nest to watch the ice slide around the bow or hang out on the bridge as hourglass dolphins played to starboard. Come evenings, we’d sit around a large table in the stern and eat lasagna and fish prepared by a French chef. Back home, I could hardly talk about it without getting choked up. Such is the power of Antarctica. — Tim Neville

Rafting on the Ganges River MP Pant / Shutterstock

Ganges River, India: Rafting the World’s Holiest River

In India, the Ganges River is sacred water, almost a deity unto itself. It may also be toxic and full of rotting bodies by the time it empties into the Bay of Bengal. But as it gushes from its source near the Tibetan border, it’s something else entirely: wild, unspoiled, and as blue as toothpaste. Outside the Himalayan town of Rishikesh, there’s a 25-mile section perfect for rafting, too, offering challenging Class III and IV rapids, as I discovered in December.

Rishikesh is often called the yoga capital of the world. Five decades ago, the Beatles traveled here for a course in transcendental meditation and inspired a generation of seekers to the area. These days, though, it’s more about adventure. “The type of people who came here in the past were looking for some sort of spiritual enlightenment, but the perception has changed,” said Deeya Bajaj, my guide at the rafting company Snow Leopard Adventures. The outfit operates three tented camps along the Ganges and has become the de facto operator for all things outdoors in this area of the country. In addition to rafting, there are a labyrinth of mountain paths for trekking, zip-line tours across canyons, and, farther afield, wildlife safaris to see Asian elephants and even Bengal tigers.

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Of course, as you travel here, you pass constant reminders of the Rishikesh of yore. There are the Westerners plucking sitars at an ashram dedicated to the late, infamous guru Osho (of Wild Wild Country fame) or the sadhus (Hindu ascetics) laundering orange robes on the river’s edge. When you wash up in town, just below the now-abandoned “Beatles ashram,” it feels as if some form of enlightenment—be it in mind, body, or spirit—was an inevitable part of the journey. But such is India, even when all you’re after is a shot of adrenaline. — Mark Johanson

Tasmania, Australia: Down Under’s Wild Island

Surfing Shipstern in Tasmania, Australia Courtesy of Tourism Australia & Samuel Shelley

1. Surfing Shipstern

It’s numbingly cold and a four-mile hike to the water, but when it’s on, Shipstern Bluff churns one of the world’s most challenging big waves. “Tassie” also offers numerous gentler breaks, like Clifton Beach, Eaglehawk Neck, and Bruny Island—all within a 90-minute drive from Hobart.

Fishing for trout in Tasmania’s Western Lakes region Steven Ooi

2. Lake Region Trout

The best sight fishing on the planet is found in Tasmania’s Western Lakes region. Here, seven-pound browns cruise gin-clear creeks and tarns, devour small frogs, and (if you can make a perfect cast) might even inhale your dry fly.

Saffire Freycinet hotel in Australia Courtesy Image

3. Upscale Digs

Set above the white sands of Great Oyster Bay, Saffire Freycinet is one of the best small hotels in all of Australia. It’s an ideal base camp for wildlife-watching hikes and kayaking or simply chilling, sampling local oysters, and sipping Tassie vintages.

Llama-packing in Yellowstone National Park Van Holmes

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Llama-Packing Into Grizzly Country

There’s a reason 4 million people visit Yellowstone National Park every year: It’s simply incredible. Bison, geysers, grizzly bears, wolves—the 2.2-million-acre park has them all. The bulk of visitors, however, don’t experience just how truly mind-blowing Yellowstone is. For that, you need to trek deep into the backcountry, and the best way to do that is via llamas—goofy, wily, lovable llamas.

Last summer, nine companions and I hiked 10 miles along Cache Creek, near the Lamar Valley, with a dozen of the animals. We caught cutthroat trout by the dozen, trekked high through pristine mountains, drank beer around campfires, and swam in frigid creeks. Mostly, though, we moved from camp to camp.

THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE BACKCOUNTRY IS BY LLAMA—GOOFY, LOVABLE LLAMAS.

Llamas, which are bred to haul heavy stuff, proved precisely docile enough and just stubborn enough for the task. Low impact and low fuss, they knew exactly one command—“stand”—and they each schlepped 60 pounds of gear. They also had enough wherewithal to bark if they saw or smelled a predator nearby, making them an ideal guard for camp. “I sleep well with them surrounding us,” explained our guide, Thomas Baumeister, of Access Wild, a Yellowstone llama outfitter.

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The llamas’ alertness came in handy on evening three. As our group sat around a campfire, the llamas, staked around camp, started to bark. We were grizzly-ready, having seen plenty of scat and other signs. We glassed the distant ridges. Nothing. An hour later: more barking. More glassing. Then a big male bison came sauntering down a bluff.

False alarm. Damn llamas! Then, as we settled back in around the fire, the yips and howls of wolves floated into camp. They were far off and of no real concern. But at least we knew. The llamas, meanwhile, just stood there, sort of barking, sort of brilliant. — J.R. Sullivan

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Style Meets Adventure With the Ripton & Co. Technical Denim Cutoffs

A scrappy, rebellious, brand founded by a dirtbag bike and ski bum, Ripton & Co. might be the first company to positions cutoff jeans shorts as technical mountain biking gear. Call it hokey, but Ripton has hit a nerve with the millennial crowd. The company sold through its first order last winter. With sales of Action Jorts 2.0 proceeding at the same blistering pace, expect to see them on a trail near you soon.

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“I never wore jeans when I lived in Vermont—they were too heavy and hot,” said Ripton founder Elliot Wilkinson-Ray, who named his company after a town in the Green Mountain State. “I moved to California, and everyone was wearing denim. It was the fancy hip alternative vibe.”

Photo: Courtesy of Ripton & Co.

Wilkinson-Ray worked on the marketing team for California-based Kitsbow, makers of stretchy cycling jeans, and other bike commuter-styled apparel. That’s where his obsession with technical denim was born.

“Riding jeans are classic and iconic, but also work really well,” said Wilkinson-Ray. He pitched Kitsbow on jorts, and they laughed him off. So Wilkinson-Ray went back to the daily grind, eventually leaving Kitsbow’s and California for marketing jobs in Utah and Colorado, and a return to the mountains.

Photo: Courtesy of Ripton & Co.

But jorts were still on his mind. He’d bounce the idea off entrepreneur friends, and apparel-industry friends after bike rides over beers. All encouraged him to make the shorts himself.

“One of the biggest problems with commuter apparel, whether it’s from a hip brand like Kitsbow or a historic brand like Levis, is that commuting is drab experience,“ said Wilkinson-Ray. ”I didn’t want my shorts to evoke the dread of going to work on a Monday morning, but the vibe of spending time with friends riding bikes and having fun.”

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With no meaningful business background or entrepreneurial experience, but strong instincts, Wilkinson-Ray finally took the plunge. He enrolled in London’s Central St. Martins fashion school to learn pattern making and product concepting.

Photo: Courtesy of Ripton & Co.

“Other students were training to be the creative director for Gucci,” he laughed. “No one else was building a business based on cut-off jeans.” While his classmates designed dresses for celebrity red carpet events, Wilkinson-Ray scoured thrift stores for old jeans, and cut and sewed jorts. When he found a promising fabric or thought he had nailed the fit, he’d hop on his bike and hit the trails to test them.

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Wilkinson-Ray, his brother Tyler, and a few discerning friends slipped on prototype jorts and toured the world, riding across the U.S., Colombia, the U.K., Thailand, and Mexico before Wilkinson-Ray was satisfied he had found the right fabric weight for summer biking denim, and the perfect ratio of cotton to spandex so that the shorts felt good to wear, and stretchy enough without being saggy. He hired a Los Angeles, California denim maker to manufacture for him, and convinced 200 friends to pre-order, which paid for production.

Jorts aren’t’ just whimsy for Wilkinson-Ray. “We’ve added technical performance to one of the most iconic silhouettes in American apparel. Cut-off jeans shorts that fade with adventures are emotionally evocative in a cool way. We’re balancing innovation with nostalgia and form. And we’re doing it with stretchy summer-weight denim made in the U.S.A.”

Photo: Courtesy of Ripton & Co.

I’ve been wearing them, and every time I do they put a smile on my face, and catch the eye of other shredders. And I don’t just wear them for biking. Gardening, camping, lakeside chilling, bare-leg spring skiing, and other warm-weather fun and antics are all within these shorts job description. The gusseted crotch didn’t restrict my riding or anything else. And they just feel good to wear.

That Wilkinson-Ray was able to sell through his stock of jorts in winter was an auspicious start—he launched in October and ran out by December. The Action Jorts 2.0 is available for preorder now. It’s longer, so compatible with kneepads, and available in two washes. Ripton is also selling 100 pairs of limited edition Action Jorts with an engineer stripe back pocket.

[$89, riptonco.com]

Preorder Here

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