Advocates herald the wilderness

Still in high school, Jonson England spent last summer working in the wilderness with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.

Not only did he spend countless hours trying to teach himself to fly fish, he said, it changed the way he went about solving problems. In the Bob, he noted, there is no Google.

“You need to be focused, but you also have to have an open mind,” he said. Wilderness offers great opportunities, he said, “but only asks that we respect it.”

England joined author and outfitter Roland Cheek, former Forest Service wilderness manager Chris Ryan, college student Rebecca Boslough and farrier, volunteer and wilderness advocate Frank Vitale in a panel discussion on “Leaving a legacy, passing on wilderness to the next generation.” The Montana Wilderness Association and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation co-hosted the event.

For young and old alike, the value of wilderness is undeniable, the panel agreed. Passing on that value for future generations is going to take some legwork, but it’s not an insurmountable task by any means.

Today, more people than ever before have information right at their fingertips through the Internet and social networks like Facebook. Wilderness provides a fantastic outlet to get away from all the electronic gadgets of the 21st century.

Roland Cheek has been wandering the woods for the better part of five decades. But even at his age, he still keeps a blog, his own Web site and a Facebook account.

Selling the idea of wilderness to the public can be a delicate affair, Cheek said. He recalled the early days of the Montana Wilderness Association when its leader, Bill Cunningham, was forceful and direct.

He was later replaced by the affable John Gatchell — a disarming fellow who could get along with nearly anyone, even if they were against wilderness.

Both had their required place in history, Cheek said. Cunningham was needed to get wilderness advocates a seat at the negotiating table when they were being largely ignored.

Today, few National Forest plans come to fruition without some wilderness aspect included in them.

“Wilderness advocates need to remain flexible and use the tools that are available to them,” Cheek said.

Vitale said his time as a member of the Whitefish Range Partnership was a valuable experience. The collaborative effort brought to the table a variety of land users, from mountain bikers to loggers.

Everyone who participated came away with more than what they started out with, he said. But make no mistake, he’d like to see more wilderness on the landscape, and he dismisses the notion that there’s enough wilderness.

“I’d say we don’t have anywhere near enough wilderness,” he said.

The glass is Montana is only half full, he noted.

“If any politicians are out there, help us or get out of the way,” Vitale said.

Ryan agreed there should be more wilderness in the state.

“We haven’t had a wilderness bill in more than 30 years,” she said. “It’s time.”

She expressed concern that if some areas aren’t designated wilderness, motorized and other non-wilderness use will become established. And once that happens, it’s difficult to get an area designated. But she also worried about overcrowding — wilderness is a finite resource.

To love wilderness is to experience it, Boslough noted. She recalled spending 11 days in the wilderness as part of a University of Montana class.

The experience was unforgettable — wilderness offers the opportunity to get high on a mountain and not see the effects of mankind for miles on end.

After more than a week in the woods, “it was strange to come out,” she said.