Five years ago today, on January 14th, 2005, a group of concerned citizens from Idaho and Montana gathered together in a centrally located living room, crowding couches and spilling onto pillows around the floor to chart the course of what became the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. Happy 5th Year Anniversary!!
Working with a passion and vision for Wilderness, full of hope and potential we would spend the first few months simply getting organized, and ready, for the Grand Kick Off in May with an eight page newspaper insert and a performance by Jack Gladstone of his traveling concert: “America – Pass It On!”
Most of the people involved in those early days are still active Friends of Scotchman Peaks board members or volunteers. And, indeed, we have “passed it on” continuing with the same passion, conviction and confidence we have had since that January day in 2005.
We have come a long way, passing important benchmarks and have enjoyed many intermediate successes. We are proud that we have helped to elevate the community conversation about Wilderness and create a positive atmosphere for consideration of conservation issues.
But we are not done yet. There is more work to be done to create and continue the level of community support required for Wilderness designation. We will not let up, or loose sight of the final goal, until the Scotchman Peaks have been designated as Wilderness!
