They say “seeing is believing”. We trust our senses tell us what is real.Likewise “hearing is understanding”. Our ears can tell us what is real also. So you just have to listen this interview by Molly Kieran! If you do, you will understand what our quest for Wilderness is all about. But, don’t take our [...]
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.
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FSPW Salutes Team Laughing Dog
March 31st, 2011
The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness salute Team Laughing Dog, the local bicycle team that will ride in the Race Across America (RAAM) in June to raise money for autism research and education. We are proud that two of our key volunteers (Treasurer Jacob Styer and Merchandise Manager Jim Mellen) are also vital members of [...]
Luck and passion in wild, wild Vegas
March 13th, 2011
We are just finished with the first National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance conference . . . or at least many of us are. Some lucky souls are out on a field trip/workday in a local wilderness area while the rest of us are finding our way home and back to our real lives.
The lucky souls are [...]
We Salute our Volunteers!
February 21st, 2011
Like many organizations, the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness was formed and led by volunteers. Although we have grown and now have part time staff we are still volunteer driven and perhaps depend on our volunteers more now than ever before.
Volunteers are the very heartbeat of all our activities and outreach. With help from dedicated, [...]
Wonder What We Will Find?
February 19th, 2011
This weekend we will be checking on a couple of the Wolverine monitoring sites and we wonder what we will find?!? Will there be tracks, hair snags and other signs of Wolverine, Lynx, Fisher, Marten or a sleepwalking Bear? Or will the bait be unmolested? We’ll know soon enough and the pictures will tell more [...]
Wolverine Way
February 17th, 2011
Wolverine Way
This winter the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness has been assisting Idaho Fish and Game in setting up and checking several Wolverine monitoring locations in the Scotchmans. This is part of a larger study they are conducting in the West Cabinets to find out more about the Wolverine population and their habits. Even [...]
The season of the wolverine begins before the year of the Rabbit.
January 26th, 2011
The Chinese calendar says 2011 is the year of the Rabbit — sort of. First of all, the new Chinese year doesn’t start until February 3, and furthermore, it will really be 4078 by Chinese count. They got about a 2,000 year head start on keeping track. At Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, though, 2011 [...]
Wild art show in Lewiston draws crowds and attention for the Scotchmans
January 19th, 2011
Art opening focuses on Extreme Plein Air paintings, sculpture and an artful movie from Wildman Pictures
The work of Aaron Johnson, Jared Shear and David Herbold, three artists who undertook the 2010 Extreme Plein Air hike sponsored by Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, went on display in Lewiston, Idaho, January 14. And, running continuously throughout [...]
Progress Towards Wilderness in Montana and Idaho
December 28th, 2010
Wilderness bills for Idaho and Montana had key senate hearings in this last session of congress. All four of Idaho’s congressmen, at some point, supported the Boulder White Clouds bill. Both Montana Senators supported the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act which would designate over 600,000 acres of Wilderness, creating Montana’s first new wilderness since 1983. [...]
Give the Gift of Wilderness
December 21st, 2010
Whether it’s a last minute gift for someone special or a year end donation, there is never a better time than December to remember Wilderness!
The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness rely on your support to accomplish all that we do. Your time, passion and energy are important in our efforts to protect and preserve the [...]
Great News for Montana Wilderness
December 16th, 2010
Great News for Montana Wilderness by Doug Ferrell
Many of you have heard the recent news that Senator Jon Tester’s logging and wilderness initiative has made a huge step towards being enacted as law. This is great news for wilderness lovers as well as a large coalition of various forest users. The bill has been included [...]
Snow time ain’t no time to stop hiking.
December 9th, 2010
Sign up to lead a winter hike!
Allrighty, hikers. Just a few days left to get your winter Scotchmans hike into the January/February issue of Peak Experience. We have some great winter walks already, but it would be even better to have more, and December 15 is our deadline for editorial for the newsletter. If you [...]
Give Thanks for the Wild
November 25th, 2010
On Thanksgiving Day many of us will take a few moments to consider our blessings and give thanks for those things which bring us abundance and pleasure, which uplift us and make us better people, which create stronger connections and community.
I am thankful for Wild Places, for the excitement and pleasure they provide; and for [...]
Sip and Shop
November 24th, 2010
The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness invites you to toast the holidays with us! On the Monday after Thanksgiving, when the family has gone home and the holiday season is just starting to swing, come out and shop in Scotchmans style, sipping all the way!
On Monday Nov 29, the Pend d’Oreille Winery, on Cedar Street [...]
Winter Film Fun, then Winter 101
November 23rd, 2010
Are you ready for winter? Well, ready or not, the “bleak season” just fell into Idaho out of the north, pushed by a familiar presence — the Arctic Express — which often ushers in a big freeze by blasting down the Purcell Trench and whistling through the peaks on either side. To help you make [...]
The tread is to tread upon — stay on it.
November 18th, 2010
It’s not in the Scotchmans, but you can see the proposed wilderness from there —Scotchman itself, and Clayton and Mikes and Star Peak. As you near the top of the Mickinnick, a bit more of the Scotchmans comes into view, but even from the first set of benches, they are seen as part of the [...]
Wilderness and climate change
November 4th, 2010
Change.
Now, that’s a scary word, particularly when the onus to do so is on us, personally. Or when we are facing some that is inevitable.
The discussion about climate change, also known as “global warming,” has been heating up over the past few years — sort of like the planet, eh — and will continue to [...]
Remember: “a fed goat could be a dead goat.”
October 20th, 2010
In the recent news is a story about a man who died after being gored by a mountain goat in the Olympic National Park in Washington. This tragedy emphasizes something Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness have become increasingly concerned about in the past year: the socialization of the goats on Scotchman Peak.
We have had as [...]
Further confessions for a former couch potato: Wild, Wild Washington, D.C.
September 30th, 2010
On Saturday last, I took a walk into “our” wilderness, clambered into the upper reaches of the East Fork of Blue Creek, looking to sew together some unconnected dots. I found what I was looking for — I think — but I also ran out of time, making another foray on another day absolutely necessary. [...]
Plenty of ways to celebrate National Public Lands Day with FSPW
September 22nd, 2010
“This land is your land . . . “
As September draws to a (currently) beautiful end, FSWP takes note of National Public Lands Day. Saturday, September 25 is a nation-wide celebration of our heritage of publicly-held lands. Last year, 150,ooo folks got outside and picked up trash, worked on trails and watersheds, planted trees and [...]
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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