Big Eddy Trail #998 and Pillick Ridge Trail #1036 to Star Peak recently got facelifts during a series of cooperative workdays between the Forest Service and FSPW volunteers. The results? “Awesome,” says Joel Sather of the Forest Service. See the whole story below.
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: June 2010
Independence Day
June 28th, 2010
There were times during this cool, rain drenched spring when it seemed like it would never happen, but summer is finally here! We know because July 4th is coming up this weekend and the sun has come out just in time to help us celebrate.
Summer is prime time to show your colors for Wilderness, and [...]
Extreme Pleinair prehike yeilds wolf tracks and waterfalls.
June 25th, 2010
On Wednesday, June 23, Thompson Falls artist Jared Shear and FSPW program coordinator Sandy Compton hiked into Ross Creek from the Cedars on a scouting mission for the upcoming Extreme Plenair event planned for July 9 through 13. Over the next 14 hours, they hiked 17 miles through the heart of the Scotchmans, garnering some [...]
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and Forest Service personnel add up to a job well done.
June 21st, 2010
A total of seventeen Friends from Sandpoint, Spokane, Hayden, Noxon and even Utah showed up Saturday, June 19 to help put Scotchman Peak Trail #65 “back in order” for the hiking season. Last fall, a microburst storm uprooted dozens of trees along the trail, crisscrossing the tread with many blowdowns. FSPW volunteers Jim and Sandii [...]
First day of summer: a day of the future, past.
June 18th, 2010
Thanks to the Moody Blues, for understanding.
Golden, low-angle sunshine slants from the north corner of Billiard Table. The sun is so low yet that much of Scotchman is still in the shadow of Mike’s Peak. Ox-eye daisies and heavy-headed timothy hay nod under a full load of dew and saturate me from mid thigh down [...]
Trail #65 Workday was a big success.
June 16th, 2010
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and the Forest Service joined forces June 19 in a cooperative workday to do some much-needed maintenance on Trail #65, the route to Scotchman Peak. Seventeen Friends and a six-man saw crew from the Sandpoint District of the Panhandle National Forest vastly improved the trail over six hours of hard [...]
Muhlenberg College film crew headed west for time in the Scotchmans
June 15th, 2010
Three young film makers from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, will make their way west in July to film footage for a 20- to 30-minute documentary about Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and the 88,ooo-acre roadless area on the Idaho-Montana border that FSPW is advocating for wilderness designation. To read more, see the story below.
Muhlenberg students arrive July 7 to begin filming FSPW documentary
June 15th, 2010
Three young film makers from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, will get an up-close-and-personal view of the Scotchman Peaks and have opportunity to film in and around the proposed wilderness this summer. Jake Glass, Matt Stauble and Joe Foster will arrive in Montana on July 7, just in time to pack their film equipment and [...]
Further confessions of a reformed couch potatoe: Still willin’
June 10th, 2010
I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I’m beat down and dirty, and don’t you know
That I’m still . . . willin’
(Willin’ – Lowell T. George)
A couple of weeks ago, three other crazies and I climbed Star Peak. Not that it’s crazy to climb Star Peak, understand, but the weather wasn’t exactly cooperative. [...]
The 2010 Summer Scotchman Peaks Photo Contest is underway.
June 8th, 2010
Get out your cameras! Better yet, just put them in your packs. You don’t want to miss that great shot for the 2010 Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness annual summer photo contest. The competition started May 26 and runs through October 5 this year. We have a variety of prizes in several categories, including the [...]
We’re Hiking in the Rain
June 8th, 2010
We are having a wet spring. At least the last three weeks have been wet and each forecast looks like a fire-hose’s nozzle shooting water at us from somewhere out in the Pacific, straight across Oregon and Washington. With only rare exceptions, the temps have been cooler and days damp. It’s a fine way to [...]
Jack Gladstone entertained Libby June 11
June 7th, 2010
“Montana’s Troubador,” Jack Gladstone, appeared in concert Friday, June 11, at Riverfront Park in Libby, Montana, courtesy the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. Some 200 folks turned out for a fine June evening of classic Gladstone stories and songs. Jack also entertained the residents of a Libby extended care facility that afternoon.
Gladstone is a Native [...]
Jack Gladstone comes to Libby June 11
June 7th, 2010
“Montana’s Troubador,” Jack Gladstone, will appear in concert at 7 pm, Friday, June 11, at Riverfront Park in Libby, Montana, courtesy the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness.
Gladstone is a Native “PoetSinger” and lecturer from the Blackfeet Indian Nation of Montana. Regarded as a cultural bridge builder, he delivers programs nationally on American Indian mythology and [...]
Regional seniors awarded scholarships in FSPW essay competition
June 3rd, 2010
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness awarded six scholarships to graduating seniors in Bonner County, Idaho and Sanders and Lincoln Counties, Montana. The winners are Olivia Guthrie of Sandpoint, Brittani Wilder of Hope, Amber Kardokus of Heron, Ryan Humphrey of Trout Creek, Thomas Roeder of Troy and Paige Ward of Libby. Read the full story at [...]
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness awards six scholarships to Idaho and Montana high school seniors
June 3rd, 2010
Olivia Guthrie of Sandpoint, Brittani Wilder of Hope, Amber Kardokus of Heron, Ryan Humphrey of Trout Creek, Thomas Roeder of Troy and Paige Ward of Libby were awarded scholarships by Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness for their winning essays in the annual FSPW essay competition.
Each year, FSPW sponsors a writing competition with themes about [...]
Scotchman Peaks volunteer opportunities abound this summer
June 1st, 2010
By Sandy Compton, FSPW Program Coordinator
Margaret Mead once wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Whatever group she was referring to, it is my guess that most of them were volunteers.
For nearly five years, Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness [...]
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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
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- Eichardts
- Outdoor Experience
- Pend d'Oreille Winery
- Common Knowledge Organic Cafe & Bookstore
- Keokee Publishing
- River Journal
- Only In Clark Fork
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- 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