On this last day of April, we are headed for the MWA Convention in Whitefish, “we” being FSPW staff members Phil Hough, Charlie Clough and Sandy Compton, as well as much of our board. We will join like-minded folk from around Montana to think, talk, plan and strategize about the coming year in wilderness advocacy [...]
Spanning the Idaho/Montana border, the Scotchmans are one of the last, and largest, wild areas in our region. We conduct education, outreach and stewardship activities to preserve the rugged, scenic and biologically diverse 88,000 acre Scotchman Peaks Roadless Area. We believe the Scotchman Peaks deserve congressional designation as Wilderness for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations.
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Celebration and Action Through All Seasons
April 28th, 2010
The glow from Earth Day week is fading. With a week of great events honoring mother earth, we know it’s hard to sustain that kind of intensity. But honoring, enjoying and helping our planet is really a year round way of life, even as the seasons change.
Our last winter hike went to the top of [...]
Earth Day Week was great for making new Friends
April 25th, 2010
As in any other endeavor, some weeks are better than others in the wilderness “business,” and Earth Day week was stellar for the Friends of Scotchman Peaks. We made many new Friends and sent dozens of letters to our Idaho Congressmen about the Scotchmans.
Beginning Wednesday, April 21, FSPW made three public appearances in four days, [...]
Blue Creek
April 21st, 2010
We will walk into the East Fork of Blue Creek and climb to 24-hour pass, a notch between Sawtooth and Mike’s Peak. Depending on snowpack and creek levels, we will either continue into Ross Creek and hike out to the Ross Creek Cedars or summit Sawtooth and return into the Blue Creek drainage.
Earth Day – In Idaho It’s Time Protect the Scotchmans
April 20th, 2010
Forty years ago, visionary leaders organized the first Earth Day offering hope for a healthier planet. Every year the Anniversary of Earth Day reminds us that we have a chance to do something positive. Honoring the vision of Earth Day, we invite you to step up and join us in protecting the Scotchman Peaks as [...]
Confessions of a Reformed Couch Potato: Nomadism
April 15th, 2010
Confessions of a Reformed Couch Potato is a continuing series about the wilderness experiences of a fallen country boy brought back to life by wild country. Find past Potato posts by scrolling down through our blog.
Carrying your home around on your back and following your nose from camp to camp is a time-honored manner of [...]
Trail #65 workday set for June 19.
April 13th, 2010
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and the Forest Service will join forces in a cooperative workday on June 19th to do some much-needed maintenance on Trail #65, the route to Scotchman Peak. We will begin in the trailhead parking lot at 9 a.m., and continue until about 4 p.m. Mary Ann Hamilton, Trails and Recreation [...]
May 12 set for State of the Scotchmans annual meeting
April 13th, 2010
The annual State of the Scotchmans meeting will be held at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint on Wednesday, May 12, beginning at 6:00 p.m. All Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness are invited to join us for and update on our efforts to obtain Wilderness designation for the Scotchman Peaks. In addition to music from local [...]
Last StoryTelling Company of the year is April 25
April 13th, 2010
The StoryTelling Company, sponsored by Friend of the Scotchman Peaks, will end its 2009/10 winter tale-telling season on Sunday, April 25, with a dinner show at Ivano’s Ristorante Italiano at First and Pine in Sandpoint. The StoryTelling Company features “true and not-so-true tales of the West,” local musicians, The Mystery StoryTeller and stories from Shoreline, [...]
Earth Day Celebration
April 12th, 2010
This April we celebrate the 40th Annual Earth Day! The hallmarks of what Earth Day means (clean air, clean water, habitat preservation) represent conservation values shared by a vast majority or people. Although there are different visions of how best to achieve these goals, Wilderness Designation is recognized by many as one of the as [...]
Confessions of a former couch potato: Elk and the two-syllable word.
April 8th, 2010
In my last couch potato confession, I alluded to the process of learning to think like an elk — a helpful ability in the back country of the Scotchman Peaks, where elk are the main trail-makers. They are uncannily able to find the — ahem — “easiest” way from one spot to another, and, partly [...]
Telluride Film Festival Comes to Sandpoint
April 6th, 2010
The Telluride Film Festival will be presented by the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint on Sunday, April 11. Doors open at 6 pm and the films start at 7. Come early, grab a beer and stop by Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness table to catch up on our efforts to get Wilderness [...]
Top however many reasons to be a FSPW volunteer or hike leader.
April 1st, 2010
This started out as a top 10 reasons list ala David Letterman, but there are sooo many good reasons to be a FSPW volunteer, it was hard to stop. We managed to pare the list down to 15.
15. Volunteering for any cause is a great reason to turn off the television and get out of [...]
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Scotchmans on Film
Check out the trailers for two soon-to-be-released documentary films by Wildman Pictures about the Scotchman Peaks!
En Plein Air captures the experiences of artists during a 5 day trek through the mountains. Grass Routes tells the story of the Friends of Scotchman Peaks' efforts to achieve official wilderness designation for this scenic wild area. Don't miss them!
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Our Thanks To:
- Mountain Meadows
- Merriweather Inn
- Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce
- Eichardts
- Outdoor Experience
- Pend d'Oreille Winery
- Common Knowledge Organic Cafe & Bookstore
- Keokee Publishing
- River Journal
- Only In Clark Fork
- The StoryTelling Company
- The Cinnabar Foundation
- St. Croix Printing
- Blue Creek Press
- Woodland RV Park
- Kally Thurman's Outskirts Galley
- Greasy Fingers Bikes n Repair
- Endow-Bio, Inc