American Serengeti (Made in Montana): A conservation project is underway to create a thriving three million acre wildlife reserve that will restore “America’s Serengeti.” Filmed over 2 years in stunning high-definition, American Serengeti chronicles the massive restoration project and through computer graphics interface, will fast forward to the future when vast herds of American wildlife will roam the plains once again.

Wings of Thunder: In order to chronicle a year of changing seasons, cinematographer Jeff Hogan spent countless hours in the marshes of Bear River in Utah waiting for the right moments, the perfect light, the changing weather and a host of other factors. The film title comes from an 1843 journal entry by explorer John C. Fremont describing Bear River Bay “animated with multitudes of waterfowl…rising for the space of a mile…with noise like distant thunder.”

Redwoods – Anatomy of a Giant: This film tells the story of the world’s tallest living trees, and Humboldt State University’s Steve Sillett, who is obsessed with climbing monster redwoods. Just when he thinks he’s climbed and measured an unbeatably tall tree, a new record breaker turns up in a hidden valley. Sillett awaits the results of a new high-tech aerial survey that may reveal one of the last undiscovered giants.

The films will be shown at the Little Theater in Libby on February 10th. Doors open at 6:30. The Thompson Falls showing will be a matinee at the Rex Theater. Doors open at 1:30. As  noted, admission is free, but any donations for the Libby and Troy Food Pantries and the Thompson Falls Food Bank will be greatly appreciated.

All of the winning essayist received a FSPW hat and t-shirt for their efforts. The essays of Thompson and Beardsley are published below.

“A wilderness untouched by man,” by Natalie Beardsley, Noxon Eighth Grade, second place overall.

There is a place in this world where I feel peaceful. When I walk through the forests of Montana, I feel at home. Away from the traffic of cities and surrounded by simply the wilderness. A wilderness untouched by man. When I walk, I feel twigs snap and dry autumn leaves crumble under my feet. The trees sway back and forth as if dancing to slow, sad music. The rush of the water reminds me that there is not only peace in this world, but life and freedom. The wind whispers in my ear secrets I only wish to understand. Yes, there is a place in this world where I can breathe, where I feel free, and where I feel at home. To me, that is the value of the wilderness.

“I think wilderness has value for many reasons,” by Leah Thompson, Plains Eighth Grade, first place overall.

I think wilderness has value for many reasons. The main reasons that it has value are because it shows natural beauty, it saves resources for future generations, and it is a safe. secluded place for hunting and fishing. These are the things I’m going to tell you about today.

First, it shows the natural beauty of the earth untouched by man. In my opinion, everyone should see the natural beauty of the earth. Why would anyone try to ruin that beauty? It is also a way to escape the sometimes overbearing industrial life. Wilderness is like a historical monument. It show life before it was touched by man. The Scotchman Peaks has the opportunity to make an area like a monument.

Next, it is important to save the natural resources given, for future generations. If we save them we will have a better source of resources. Trees, for example, produce oxygen for the Earth. Trees, a valuable resource, would be used up quickly. The trees would be used up easily because the world is always in demand for resources and the population is increasing. We need trees to enable our survival.

Finally, it supplies hunting and fishing areas. Hunting and fishing also supply food for families. For example, species don’t overpopulate and endangered species aren’t hunted as much. You can also get exercise by hunting and fishing. While you hunt you arc able to see the beauty of the Earth.

So from what I have stated, wilderness has value. Natural beauty,the importance of saving resources for the future, and hunting and fishing are all aspects of why I think wilderness has value. Scotchman Peaks give you the ability to witness all of these aspects.

“I’m thrilled to be on board with FSPW and this project,” Brasseur says, “and looking forward to meeting the FSPW volunteer corps as well as getting to know the community and the wild spots around it.”

Kelsey Brasseur is looking forward to a winter in the field looking for mustelids with FSPW

A recent transplant to Sandpoint, ID, Brasseur hails from the south shore of Lake Superior, where she received her BS in Biology from Northland College in 2009. During her undergraduate studies she served as the campus’ Community Garden Coordinator as well as the Food Systems Educator and Outreach Coordinator. Following graduation, she  worked with the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service as the Research Specialist for the Hazelnut Improvement Program. Her love of wild places and the creatures that call them home eventually led her to wildlife studies. As a Research Technician for Oregon State University in 2011, Brasseur studied the breeding population of Kittlitz’s murrelets in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. After three months observing seabirds in the backcountry of Glacier Bay, her passions for both wildlife and wilderness were cemented.

An avid outdoors woman and climber, Brasseur spends most of her free time scaling rock faces from the deserts of Utah and Nevada to the Red River Gorge of Kentucky. Thanks to a dedicated partner, recent adventures have included Mt. Gimli in the Valhalla Range of British Columbia and Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. She is thrilled to have settled in a place with such a rich diversity of recreational opportunities, and looks forward to exploring the vast ranges of the Idaho Panhandle as well as continuing her education in Telemark skiing.

“I knew we had found the right woman for the job when I found out that a lot of the fun-hog community already knew her,” said FSPW program coordinator Sandy Compton. “We had a horrible time making up our minds from a whole slew of great applicants, but we’re really pleased that Kelsey has taken the job.”

Brasseur began work on November 21, and will work through the spring on the project. Friends will be able to put a face to the name on Monday, November 28th at the FSPW Sip-and-Shop at the Pend Oreille Winery (4:30 to 8:30 pm) or at the volunteer training on December 3rd. More about the training day will be announced soon.

Twenty-two avid and accomplished artists fanned out in and around our favorite wilderness, bringing 64 fresh paintings back to the Gallery Sunday for hanging, viewing, and judging.

The artists’ choice for Best of Show resulted in a tie between Greg Caudell of Republic, WA, and Patsey Parsons of Spirit Lake, ID. Greg produced a striking spontaneous study of Cabin #2 behind the Hope Marketplace titled “Veracity”, and Patsey produced a beautiful luminescent study of the Clark Fork Delta entitled “Birds and Wetland”.

Outskirts Gallery owner Kally Thurman and art expertBen Mitchell ponder the new art created in the 2011 FSPW Scotchman Peaks Plein Air Paintout.

The formal judging was done by Ben Mitchell, a NW art curator and author of books on Harold Balazs, Ruben Trejo, and Theodore Waddell of Montana. The First Place Purchase Award was given to Aaron Johnson of Moscow, ID, for “Birch Trees on Oden Bay” which captured his passion and reverence for nature and trees. Second prize was awarded to Jared Shear of Thompson Falls, MT, for deftly bringing to life the light falling on shoreline rocks. Diana Moses Botkin of Bonners Ferry, ID, placed third with “Morning Trees by the Lake” showcasing her refined hand in very small works.

In addition to business, Outskirts Gallery and FSPW hosted two evenings of “meet & greet” where the artists had a chance to kick back and share their enthusiasm for art and nature, their expertise, and camaraderie.

Eight paintings were sold that Sunday, and the Outskirts Gallery will continue the exhibit through December inviting the public to view and Buy for the Legacy of Scotchman Peaks with part of the proceeds going to FSPW. The Gallery is open Wed-Sun from 11AM to 5PM. For more information call Kally at (208) 264-5696, or go to www.outskirtsgallery.com.  These are Buy Fresh, Buy Local holiday gifts guaranteed to give pleasure for generations.

Even not-so-nice weather didn't stop intrepid FSPW volunteers and USFS employees from planting trees. Sandii Mellen (foreground) swings a mean hoedad.

This week we finished up planting 3500 while pine in the Lightning Creek drainage.  We focused our planting in the East Fork and Char Creek watersheds  where we converted about 9 miles miles of old road to a non-motorized trail.  We also planted lower Rattle Creek, Porcupine Creek, and NF Grouse Creek where we restored fish passage with a bridge.  Getting this many trees in the ground wouldn’t have happened without the generous help of many hoedag swingers.  I specifically want to thank the energetic people with the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness for helping us. We could not have done this without your help.  Mary Franzel, thanks for rallying the horses, that was a big day.  Jim Mellen, sorry you missed it but we mountain-biked over from Rattle and planted the upper portion of Char Creek.  You would have liked it but we had to act quick and hit the good weather window this Tuesday.  Have a great winter!

Many Thanks

Kevin Davis
Hydro Tech/COR
Avalanche Center Director
US Forest Service

Zoo Boise on Friday, November 4, announced that FSPW will receive the entire amount they applied for, $29,700. This means that FSPW will be able to hire a half-time project coordinator for a study to be conducted by Idaho Department of Fish and Game in cooperation with Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, Idaho Conservation League, Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education, Selkirk Conservation Alliance and other community volunteers.

FSPW will help Idaho Department of Fish and Game look for this critter over the winter thanks to a grant from Zoo Boise Conservation Fund

“This is a continuation of a project we got involved in last year,” says Hough. “We were amazed by how much interest it generated, and felt that it was certainly worth continuing this year.”

The project, initiated by IDFG biologists Michael Lucid and Lacy Robinson, attracted dozens of volunteer-days from groups and individuals during the 2010-11 winter, as well as captured on film at remote-camera bait stations a variety of mustelids that included martins, fishers and wolverines. With the Zoo Boise grant, FSPW will help expand the hunt by providing a couple of dozen more Reconix cameras as well as employment of a half-time project coordinator who will work for FSPW and be hired by mid-November.

“Last year,” says Robinson, “we worked on a 10 kilometer grid. This year, we will be able to get lots more information with a 5-k grid.”

Also, Lucid and Robinson will have at their disposal a number of portable wolverine traps that can be moved relatively quickly into an area where one of the remote cameras has spotted a wolverine. The hope is to capture and collar females and so identify how many are in the Scotchman Peaks and American Selkirks. The information gathered will be helpful in helping the Forest Service develop winter travel plans as well as monitoring the population of mustelids.

FSPW is accepting applications now, and the job description, as well as contact information, can be downloaded at http://www.scotchmanpeaks.org/pdfs/Wolverine_Program_Job_Description.pdf

Friends of Scotchman Peaks will once again be present at Radical Reels, the adrenaline filled off-shoot of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour coming to North Idaho’s Panida Theater on Thursday night, October 13, 2011.  Doors will open at 5:30pm with films starting at 6:30pm.  Tickets are once again $12.00 in advance, $15.00 at the door and are available in Sandpoint, Idaho at Eichardts, The Outdoor Experience, Maps and More and Burger Express located on Highway 2.  In Bonners Ferry tickets are available at Far North Outfitters.  Any tickets left will be sold at the door of the Panida Theater the night of the show. In addition Jeff Rouleau and his crew from the North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Fund (www.nimsef.com) will be at the Panida presenting a raffle to provide local children the help needed to learn to ski and snowboard.

With so many action films being submitted each year to the Banff Mountain Film Festival held the first weekend of November the Banff Centre created the high action film fest of Radical Reels which is held annually in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The road show then takes place annually each spring and fall and is shown throughout the United States and Canada.  For North Idaho and Eastern Washington the Panida Theater is the only venue that will show these high action films.

“This campaign is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” says FSPW executive director Phil Hough. “Many of the goats in the high country of the Scotchman Peaks have become habituated and food conditioned, which can lead to human/goat interactions that could have detrimental consequences for both the humans and the goats.”

Habituated means that an animal is very comfortable around people and tolerates them at a close distance. They no longer behave as if they fear humans. They are, however, still wild animals. Many of the goats are also food conditioned, which means that they are not only willing to be around people, but are actually attracted to places people live, or camp, or travel because they’re hoping for some food.

Some will ask why having habituated and food conditioned animals is a bad thing and many people will remember the unfortunate incident that happened last October in the Olympic National Park when a hiker was gored by a mountain goat. The story had a bad ending for both the hiker and the mountain goat, the hiker bled out and the goat was identified and killed. It should be stressed that this was an extremely rare occurrence, it is the only known fatal attack by a mountain goat in the Olympic National Park’s history. But the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness would like to prevent something like this from happening between the goats and hikers in this region, and other agencies and organizations have endorsed the effort. Idaho Fish and Game, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the US Forest Service and the Idaho Conservation League all lent their support.

“When we feed animals such as goats, bears, and other back country critters we endanger them and that endangers us,” comments FSPW program director Sandy Compton. “So do yourself and the goats a favor, don’t feed them, keep your pack with you at all times, take your bathroom breaks well off the trail, and don’t forget that these animals are wild and unpredictable creatures.”

Expect to see the posters in other areas of the Cabinets (one is already posted at the Grouse Creek Trailhead in the Pack River drainage), as well as the Selkirks, where ICL hike leaders will be posting them.

Sather and fellow USFS employees Kari Dameron and Beca Gunderson were on hand Saturday, July 23, for the first  day of a trail work weekend with volunteers from across the nation put together by FSPW summer intern Lauren Mitchell. Mitchell, who hails from upper New York State herself, organized a crew from Idaho, Montana and Missouri to help the Forest Service clear brush, fight hawkweed, remove blowdowns, cut water drains and repair damaged trail tread on the first, and steepest, four miles of trail.

Chuck Gross (front) and Matt Davidson rebuilding tread on Pillick Ridge

Trail #1036 is one of the longest trails on the Cabinet District of the Kootenai National Forest, stretching 11 miles from Highway 56 to the Star Peak Lookout, and the biggest maintenance challenge is the east end, which gets heavy use from horses. “The tread is hung on the side of some really steep places, especially toward the top,” said FSPW program coordinator Sandy Compton, “and horses tend to move to the outside of the trail on steep ground to keep from getting ‘tickled’ by the brush, which is hard on tread.”

Dameron and nine volunteers and three FSPW staffers swung Pulaskis and worked with loppers along the eastern four miles of trail. Sather and Gunderson led the way on Saturday, sawing brush and blowdowns. Sather camped with the group on Saturday night at the three-mile mark and six volunteers, Compton and Mitchell continued treadwork and lopping on Sunday.

“The Friends did an awesome job,” Sather said. “I was amazed at what we accomplished in two days.”

The volunteer who came the furthest was Steve Blanck from St. Louis. “Steve  was our surprise volunteer,” Mitchell says. “He signed on two days before the project began after seeing a poster about our trail projects in Missoula.” Blanck, from St. Louis, was on his way from Stanley Basin to hike in the Canadian Rockies. He stopped to buy a pair of boots from the Missoula REI, saw the FSPW poster at the store and decided to spend a couple of days improving trails in Western Montana.

Other volunteers and staff from Friends of Scotchman Peaks were Denise Zembryki, Jan McCleod, Matt Davidson, Dave Pietz, Rodd Gallaway, Deb Hunsicker, Phil Hough (FSPW executive director), Chuck Gross and Holly Clements. FSPW volunteer Mary Franzel made everybody’s day when she brought her two horses Echo and Jazz and lifted packs and camping supplies to the campsite at the 3-mile mark.

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness has one more trail project this summer, a day on the Little Spar Lake Trail #143 with the Three Rivers Ranger District on August 20. To learn more, write to trails@scotchmanpeaks.org.

The Saturday trail crew on Pillick Ridge: (front row, L to R) Lauren Mitchell, Sandy Compton, Steve Blanck and Holly Clements. (Back row, L to R) Dave Pietz, Kari Dameron, Jan McCleod, Deb Hunsicker, Denise Zembryki, Matt Davidson, Rodd Gallaway and Phil Hough