Linda McMillan has been working for years to build collaborative and productive relationships between protected areas user groups and managers.

The simple act of learning to climb in Yosemite Valley in the 1980s led to her advocacy work on behalf of mountain regions and protected areas like Yosemite around the world. She now focuses on developing Citizen Scientist projects that help convert user groups into protected area "stewards" who advocate for and participate directly in mountain protection.

An example of that kind of collaborative relationship has been the growing participation of climbers as high-value Volunteers in Parks in Yosemite, organizing successful projects such as the annual Yosemite Facelift (organized and managed by the Yosemite Climbing Association) and the Lichen Inventory Projects (organized and managed by The American Alpine Club) conducted in 2008 and 2009 as part of the on-going NPS effort to compile an All-Taxa Biodiversity Index for the park.