Since 2016, the Wilderness Stewards program has helped restore, protect, and enhance wilderness character throughout some of central Idaho’s designated and recommended wilderness areas. These volunteers, called “Wilderness Stewards,” are trained and conduct independent patrols of the Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness, Craters of the Moon National Monument, Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness, Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness, Sawtooth Wilderness, and recommended Wilderness in the Sawtooth and Salmon-Challis National Forests.
This was not an easy year for summer recreation in Central Idaho; only a month after our volunteer training for new Wilderness Stewards did the Bench Lake Fire ignite, shortly followed by the Wapiti and the Frog Fires. Stanley, Idaho went weeks at a time with the regional air quality index fluctuating between 150 and well over 500, reaching levels of in-air particulates considered an emergency-level hazard to public health.
On rare days that the smoke cleared, however, ICL’s Wilderness Stewards did their best to make up for lost time. Under the motto of “recreate with purpose,” our 53 volunteers patrolled more than 643 miles of wilderness over 604 hours or 25 continuous days. They also removed approximately 30 pounds of trash from Central Idaho wilderness areas, cleared or naturalized 51 illegal fire rings, and encountered 1,289 other users. Despite limited opportunities due to fire conditions, these dedicated volunteers managed to fit in 99 patrols, averaging approximately six patrols a week.
The season was hardly all fire-related doom-and-gloom; plenty of good news came from the trails this summer as well. Notably, stewards reported promising signs that their hard work year-over-year has begun to make a dent in heavy-use areas. Multiple volunteers reported traveling to zones that appeared to have been recently cleaned; one volunteer even remarked that the Alice-Toxaway loop in the Sawtooth Wilderness “was the cleanest [they’d] seen in years!”
Additionally, this was an exceptional year for wildlife sightings from the trail. Stewards reported sightings of mountain goats, pikas, elk, antelope, deer, grouse, marmot, eagles, trout, bighorn sheep, quail, rabbits, black bears, moose, pine marten, and mergansers! One patrol even heard wolves howling into the night; another saw otters swimming in the Sawtooth Wilderness’ Saddleback Lakes.
Our volunteers covered miles in the Sawtooth, Cecil D. Andrus White Clouds, Hemingway-Boulders, and Jerry Peak-Jim McClure Wildernesses, as well as recommended Wilderness areas in the Salmon-Challis National Forest. Some took to the high peaks, others to valleys and lakes. We received reports from zones where “the solitude was astounding,” and volunteers were able to “[summit] one of Idaho’s tallest peaks without seeing another person.” In other areas, volunteers went out of their way to speak with other trail users, helping educate them on Wilderness regulations, fires, and how to properly dispose of human waste.
This season, we also decided it was time to formally recognize some of the volunteers who make this program so effective. That said, ICL would like to take this opportunity to thank some noteworthy Wilderness Stewards:
Andrea Goldberger of Boise was our Outstanding Steward this year, completing the most patrols of any volunteer this season.
We’d also like to recognize our longest-standing Wilderness Stewards, for whom this season marked their fifth, sixth, or even seventh year with the program:
- Virginia McConnell, Ketchum
- Bruce Becker, Idaho Falls
- Emily Williams, Bellevue
- Martha Williams, Ketchum
- Terry Patterson, Hailey
- Joyce Fabre, Ketchum
- Ted Stout, Bellevue
- Mark Sugden, Boise
- Heidi Marcum, Hailey
Thank you for all you do!
If you’re interested in becoming a Wilderness Steward next year, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OwX28c7EaBmRQIQ5wLUIV1KtyW-gY9LxT08gjOo8ixU/edit