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Growing up in Sandpoint, hiking Scotchman Peak was a right of passage. A pre-dawn launch might earn the first spot at the trail head. Better yet, being the first to the top that day gave serious bragging rights. And it still does, as this hike is a crowning achievement of the local cannon of hikes.

My family and our business, Wildwood Grilling, is located in North Idaho because of the land. Sandpoint is our home because of the beauty and phenomenal recreation access to the country’s wildest and most pristine public lands.

Sandpoint is the headquarters of our business because of the availability of raw materials from Idaho’s vibrant working forests. Our company is powered by the trees that grow here and our company’s continued success depends on healthy forests. We take stewardship of these places seriously. This balance between access and preservation is central to not just ours, but also our employees’ way of life.

The Scotchman Peaks area is part of our local and communal character. Preservation doesn’t change things now — nothing is being taken away from us, but rather, setting aside this area ensures that it will remain in its current, untrammeled beauty. A quiet place to recreate, where only the ragged sound of your own respiratory system powering you up the hill is to be heard.

From the top of Scotchman Peak, there is a clear view of the confluence of our town, our public lands, and our working forests. This view, this confluence, highlights the importance of preserving this area. Because of this, I am going to vote in favor of Sen. Risch’s Scotchman Peaks Wilderness proposal on Tuesday, May 15. Access and stewardship of our lands and resources is what keeps us going — professionally and personally.

KATIE BRADISH

Sandpoint