Time now for Scotchman Peaks Wilderness

Springtime is a period of renewal and rebirth so it seems very natural that our connection to this planet, Earth Day, would be celebrated every April. As we renew our connection to the natural landscape each spring we benefit from recognizing that each one of us is part of a larger community, a community of people and a community of connections to each other and to the natural world.

In reaching out to our communities and advocating for the preservation of the Scotchman Peaks for a number of years now, I have become convinced that most everyone who lives in our area shares a common set of values and interests in preserving our connection to the natural landscape. We may express this interest in different ways, the exact language and nuances reflecting our diverse backgrounds and overlapping interests. We may even have differences in defining exactly what preservation means. But our common desire to live close to nature, to cherish clean air and clean water, to marvel at the critters who share this landscape define our common interests. Preserving the Scotchman Peaks, as they are right now, for ourselves, for our families and for our future is a commonly valued community interest.

As Wallace Stegner noted: “We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.”

The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness has been at the forefront of public conversation about the value of Wilderness designation for the Scotchmans. Support for this idea has come from diverse groups including sportsmen, environmentalists, business and civic organizations and from many individuals who call our area home. In recent months we have been working with less traditional wilderness allies and gaining their support too, including representatives from the Timber and Mining industries. Our success in gaining support from a broad spectrum of partners was chronicled in a recently released film “Grass Routes: Changing the Conversation."

The release of the final revised management plans for the Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National forest is scheduled for later this summer. After ten years of public input, every indication is that these plans will contain strong recommendations for wilderness protection for the Scotchmans. We believe that the time is now for gaining the additional support and momentum which will encourage action from our states’ congressional delegations.

Victor Hugo once noted: “Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.”

Preserving the Scotchman Peaks as Wilderness is a powerful idea because it would allow us to continue renewing each spring our connection to this incredible landscape. This April we should pledge to ourselves to take those action steps in the coming year which will allow us to celebrate and salute the Scotchman Peaks as a wilderness area on every Earth Day in the coming year.

To find out more about the Scotchman Peaks and what you can do to help, please visit: www.ScotchmanPeaks.org

PHIL HOUGH

Executive Director

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness