Event celebrates 50 years of wilderness

There is good reason to celebrate in the Flathead Valley. Millions of acres of wilderness became permanently preserved for the use and enjoyment of all Americans 50 years ago when the Wilderness Act was signed. Flathead Valley residents are especially lucky to live next to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Mission Mountain Wilderness, and the Cabinet Wilderness areas. Now is the time to celebrate these great treasures.

A free, family-oriented celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act will take place at the Expo Building at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Conservation groups and government agencies have partnered together to bring this fun-filled family event to the Flathead Valley.

Inside the expansive Expo Building will be booths and educational displays on the history, geography, wildlife and environment of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, the Mission Mountains Wilderness, the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and Glacier National Park.

Outside will be a self-guided Wilderness Skills Trail with stations on wilderness elements and Leave No Trace behind information, a Dutch oven cooking demonstration, and a cross-cut saw and tool display demonstrating how crews today maintain wilderness trails.

The Forest Service’s Nine Mile Mule Pack Train will be on hand all day and will put on a special parade demonstration from 2 to 2:30 p.m. in the fairgrounds grandstand arena.  Doug MacCarter and Beth Watne, of the Wild Wings Recovery Center, will have several raptors on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead will give packing demonstrations, and the Glacier Institute will lead a Go Wild kids activity at 1:30 p.m.

Representatives from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will give an invocation at noon. The keynote speaker will be Stewart Branborg, who pushed the Wilderness Act through its last steps in Congress after its author, Howard Zahniser, died one year earlier. Branborg’s talk at 12:15 p.m. will be followed by free cake celebrating the anniversary.

Live music will be provided by the Moonshine Montana Band in the morning and by Fresh Off The Vine in the afternoon. Porteus BBQ will sell food and drinks throughout the day. Door prizes include a Dutch oven from Cabela’s and a Monte Dolack poster.

Visitors can pose next to a life-size photo of Bob Marshall and learn about his epic solo hike back in 1928 through the wilderness that now bears his name. Come dressed as Bob Marshall — prizes will be offered for the best Bob Marshall look-alike.

For more information, visit online at www.bmwf.org/events, call 387-3847 or find us on Facebook at bit.ly/FiftyWildYears.

The celebration is sponsored by Flathead area conservation organizations and agencies: The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, Flathead Audubon, United States Forest Service - Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Headwaters Montana, Montana Wilderness Association, The Sustainability Fund, The Swan Rangers, and The Wilderness Society.