Your National Forests Summer/Fall 2013 by National Forest Foundation

Treasured Landscapes | Unforgettable Experiences

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SUMMER – FALL 2013

The Making

’North

America’

A rich history

utah’s

Immense Backyard Take your kids

Bird Watching

O F F I C I A L M AGA Z I N E O F T H E N AT I O N A L F O R E S T F O U N DAT I O N

. D N A L UR O S I D N A L S I H T

BRUTAL. SURPRISING. INCREDIBLE.

SEE AMERICA IN ALL ITS GLORY. DISCOVERY.COM/NORTHAMERICA

Do you love unplugging from the world and wandering in the woods? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not alone. Join the thousands of Americans who help care for our National Forests. We invite you to stay informed and get involved.

HE L P P ROTECT AMERICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S B ACKYARD

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INSIDE THIS EDITION Photo © Nick Lyon / Discovery Channel

INTRODUCTIONS 4 Welcome

Taking an active role

DEPARTMENTS 5 Volunteer Perspective

Restoring the Goodrich Rock ladder in New Hampshire

6 Forest News

Updates from our National Forests

8 Tree Spotlight

Studying the distribution of the sycamore tree

14 Unforgettable Experiences

Photos from friends

16 Field Reports

National Forest Foundation and partners in action

24 Voices from the Forest Regenerating our natural identity

26 Kids & Nature Birding with kids

27 Where in the Woods

Which National Forest is this?

28 Corporate Partners

Companies team up with NFF to be good stewards

32 Meet the Staff

NFF’s new executive vice presidents

33 Forest Perspectives Mt. Timpanogos

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

Official Magazine of the National Forest Foundation

Unforgettable Experiences

Editor-in-Chief Greg Peters

The making of Discovery Channel’s “North America”

The National Forest Foundation engages Americans in community-based and national programs that promote the health and public enjoyment of the 193-million-acre National Forest System, and administers private gifts of funds and land for the benefit of the National Forests.

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Contributors Sandy Compton, Karen DiBari, Hannah Ettema, Ray A. Foote, Zia Maumenee, Char Miller, Dan Newton, Marlee Ostheimer, Greg Peters, William J. Possiel Graphic Artist David Downing, Old Town Creative Communications, LLC

Business Development Ray A. Foote 571-366-1705

INSIDE THIS EDITION Photos © Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness; USFS

Conservation

NFF’s Full Package Approach

Voices from the Forest

Source: It is good to know where things come from

Treasured Landscapes

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah

NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION Building 27, Suite 3 Fort Missoula Road Missoula, Montana 59804 406-542-2805

ABOUT THE COVER PHOTO

Your National Forests magazine is printed on recycled paper with 30% post-consumer content. This magazine’s use of FSC® certified paper ensures the highest environmental and social standards have been followed in the wood sourcing, paper manufacturing and print production of this magazine. To learn more log on to www.fsc.org.

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YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

WELCOME

TAKING AN ACTIVE ROLE

By Bill Possiel, NFF President

In carrying out the work of the National Forest Foundation, we focus on applied science. To meet the management challenges on the 193-million-acre National Forest System, we take advantage of new research and practice adaptive mana g ement. However, it never hurts to look back to gain historical context for our adaptive decision-making. Cultures around the world have wrestled with how to maintain the long term benefits of forest resources throughout history. In Europe, for example, forest management has been a subject of debate for millennia. Both Plato and Aristotle noted that when forests surrounding Athens were heavily cut, rain water failed to seep into the ground to restore springs. Rather, it ran directly to the sea, choked with sediment and unsuitable for drinking. Aristotle even advocated for “Inspectors of Forests,” civic employees tasked with ensuring that Greece’s forests could provide clean water and natural resources for the city of Athens. In the United States, Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, argued similarly for the protection of our nation’s vast forests. Pinchot studied forestry in Europe and wrote that when debating conflicting management options for forests, “…the question shall always be answered from the standpoint of the greatest good for the greatest number in

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

the long run.” He also argued that, “[I]f the National Forests are going to accomplish anything worthwhile, the people must know all about them and must take a very active role in their management.” This simple idea—taking an active role—has been the basic principal of what the NFF does as it works to “protect America’s backyard.” We know that our National Forests have helped our nation accomplish many worthwhile endeavors, and they provide exceptional amenities and economic value—water for cities, industry and agriculture, habitat for wildlife, and the backdrop for family traditions. Much of our work focuses on getting others to know this too. One way that we take an active role is through our Conservation Connect Program, which provides technical assistance, financial support, peermentoring opportunities, and other resources to collaborative groups working with the Forest Service. Each of our fourteen Treasured Landscapes sites is advised by a coordinating council or collaborative group. Your National Forests is part of that effort too—a way to tell the stories underlining our work, to feature the people who make it possible, and to highlight the beauty and power of these amazing landscapes. Connecting people to their forests has been such an underlying component of our work that we occasionally have to step back and take note of all of the ways we make these connections. In measuring our achievements—the acres restored, trees planted, and habitats improved—it’s easy to forget that for each success there is a person taking an active role, a person who strives to make a difference. We hold no illusions that the NFF can solve all of the immense challenges facing our National Forests and Grasslands. Yet by building public awareness and the capacity of communities to steward their backyard forests, we can leverage greater results and empower those who strive to make a difference. Our focus on empowering communities is the key to making progress towards our mission. In our own way, we are building a network of “Inspectors of Forests” envisioned by Aristotle more than two-thousand years ago.

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National Forest Foundation Building 27, Suite 3 Fort Missoula Road Missoula, Montana 59804 406-542-2805 William J. Possiel, President Mary Mitsos, Executive Vice President Ray A. Foote, Executive Vice President Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Chairman, John Hendricks Founder and Chairman, Discovery Communications, Inc. (MD)

Vice Chairman, Craig R. Barrett CEO/Chairman of the Board, Intel Corporation, Retired (AZ) Vice Chairman, David Bell Creative Realities (NY) Treasurer, Bradley K. Johnson CAO, CFO, Recreational Equipment Incorporated, Retired (UT) Secretary, Timothy Proctor Schieffelin Source Capital Group, Inc., JSBO Realty & Capital Inc. (CT) Committee Member, Peter Foreman Sirius LP (IL) Committee Member, Thomas Tidwell Ex-Officio, Chief, U.S. Forest Service (DC) Mike Brown, Jr., General Partner, Bowery Capital ( N Y) ; C o lem an B u r ke, Pr es i de n t , Wa t e rf ro n t Properties (NY); Blaise Carrig, President—Mountain Division, Vail Resorts, Inc. (CO); Caroline Choi, Vice President, Integrated Planning & Regulatory Affairs, Southern California Edison (CA); Robert Cole, Partner, Collins Cockrel & Cole, P.C. (CO); B ar t Eb er wein , Ex ec uti v e Vic e P re s i d e n t , Hoffman Construction Company (OR); Robert Feitler, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Weyco Group, Inc. (IL); Barry Fingerhut, CEO/ Owner Certification Partners, LLC (AZ); Lee Fromson, Senior Vice President, Merchandising, Recreational Equipment Incorporated (WA); Roje S. Gootee, Co-Owner & Manager, Rush Creek Ranch, LLC (OR); Damien Huang, Senior Vice President, Merchandising, Eddie Bauer, Inc. (WA); Jeff Paro, CEO, InterMedia Outdoors (NY); Patricia Hayling Price, President, LiveWorkStrategize LLC (NY); Jack Sah l, Ph.D . ( C A) ; Su sa n S c hna be l , Managing Director, Credit-Suisse (CA); Mary Smart (NY); Chad Weiss, Managing Director, JOG Capital Inc. (WY); James Yardley (TX) The official magazine of the National Forest Foundation, Your National Forests magazine, is published twice yearly by Old Town Creative Communications LLC and the National Forest Foundation. Copyright © 2013 Your National Forests Magazine, Old Town Creative Communications LLC and National Forest Foundation. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed in U.S.A. on 100% recycled paper containing 30% post-consumer content and using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper and processes that adhere to the highest social and environmental standards. Please recycle or pass on to a friend.

Volunteer Perspective

A SYSTEM OF

RECKONING By Dan Newton

I’m 15 feet off the ground, not because I’m a spirit or some strange sprite, nor because I’m possessed of any magical powers. I’m simply the president of an organization called The Waterville Valley Athletic & Improvement Association (WVAIA), and it was my idea to lead a group of volunteers into the woods to build a new timber ladder to the top of Goodrich Rock, one of the largest glacial erratics in the state. When it was determined that before we attach the rungs, we need someone to scale the stringer to fine-tune its placement, I was the logical choice. Despite its strange and slightly silly name, the WVAIA is a venerable hiking club formed in 1888 to maintain what is now commonly regarded as one of the oldest networks of hiking trails in the country. The club is based in Waterville Valley, NH, a small ski town ensconced in the southwestern corner of the White Mountain National Forest. The trail we’re working on, and the rock to which I’m tenuously attached, are named after a former WVAIA president of many years ago, Arthur. L. Goodrich, a man who was involved in designing and cutting some of the oldest trails in the Whites; and so, as I hug this balsam stringer like a child clinging to its parent’s leg, the thought occurs to me that old “A.L.” would be pleased to know that the WVAIA is still dedicated to its mission of volunteerism to “encourage all healthful exercise and provide facilities thereto.” I reach the top of the stringer and crawl onto the famous rock, feeling suddenly

like a part of history. I stand up, positively young with excitement to be working in the woods. When the old ladder, having succumbed to the vicissitudes of age, was dismantled, the White Mountain National Forest began receiving calls from bereaved hikers who could not access the delightful height of Goodrich Rock. After receiving approval from the Forest, I gathered an intrepid group of trailworkers to rebuild the ladder. The Goodrich Rock Trail rises out of the Mad River Valley and twists through a garden of granite rock-giants strewn across the hillside, leading to an ancient and moss-covered set of stepping-stones that stretch precariously across a frog-loved tarn. From there it traverses a mountainside of balsam fir and red spruce, circles around the eponymous boulder to the ladder, which then elevates us mere mortals to the rock summit, to stand side by side with the tip-tops of the tallest trees and the gods that dwell there. For these reasons, the trail has a certain sense of magic that has made it one of the most popular trails in the area, particularly with children. One thing that I have learned as a child of 49 years is that trailwork is hard work. To build a timber ladder one needs to find and fell two tall straight trees, limb them, drag them to the site, skin them, do all that again with a few smaller trees for the rungs, cut those, pound them into place with gigantic spikes, and build the railing at the top. Yikes. So we hardly stop for lunch, and Clint and Nancy are cutting rungs, Paul and Chuck are skinning rungs, David is skinning the stringers, and the sun is sinking toward the summit of Mount Tecumseh on the valley’s western rim. “ Where does the time go?” I say to my new, albeit www.nationalforests.org

long-departed friend Arthur, “just a few hours ago we were wandering around the woods trying to figure out which trees to use.” Arthur agrees with me—time is elusive, “but,” he hastens to add, “in developing a system of reckoning , one cannot be thinking about the past and the future as something different from the present.” I nod as if I understand. And now, hiking down the mountain, heavy-laden with trail tools, we are dead-tired, having finished building the ladder. But I’m thinking about another time, when hikers wore knickers and dresses, and volunteers building the Goodrich Rock ladder for the first time were making history, staking out a piece of time on the river-like stream of life, as we have done today; and, by keeping the spirit of volunteerism alive within the WVAIA, I feel positively old with contentment to have worked a long, hard mountain day.

About the Author

Dan Newton lives in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, where he teaches high school English for Waterville Valley Academy (a school for competitive skiers and snowboarders). He also teaches at the American Hockey Institute (a post-graduate hockey program). In his free time he enjoys telemark skiing in the backcountry, hiking and fly-fishing.

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Forest

News The NFF is working to restore a number of critical sub-basins within the Hayman Fire in Colorado.

Survey finds rivers and

streams in poor condition

More than half of the nation’s rivers and streams do not support healthy populations of aquatic life, according to a report released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Working closely with federal, state and tribal water quality agencies, the EPA used standard statistical survey techniques to evaluate the overall biological condition of our country’s rivers and streams from 2008 to 2009. In addition to compromised water quality, riparian vegetative cover was reported as low and human disturbance near rivers reported as high, causing the rivers and streams to be more susceptible to flood damage and high sediment flow.

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

Overall results of the study indicated that our waterways are under significant stress. This survey shows that continued work is needed to ensure healthy water for future generations. Fortunately, the NFF is working to remedy this situation. The NFF’s Restoring America’s Headwaters program is addressing the critical watershed restoration needs across the National Forest System by matching corporate and private contributions to important watershed restoration projects. Additionally, the NFF is working closely with local partners and the U.S. Forest Ser vice through our Treasured Landscapes conservation campaign to ensure our rivers and streams remain healthy.

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The NFF’s Treasured Landscapes conservation campaign is addressing watershed health issues across the country. Restoration of Fisheries, Aquatic Health and Riparian Areas— Deschutes, Tongass, White River National Forests and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie River Restoration Following Wildfire and Natural Disaster— Angeles, Pike, White Mountain, and Idaho Panhandle National Forests Protecting Water Quality— Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Tahoe National Forests

Forest

News

Photos © SamDieselPhoto / istockphoto.com; pixelsaway / veer.com

Sequester Impacts Fire Fighters And Recreation Opportunities On March 1, the Department of Agriculture lost nearly $2 billion from its 2013 budget, including a $42 million cut to the Forest Service. With such dramatic cuts, the agency will be stretched further, doing even more with even less. Thanks to rising temperatures, low snowpack and increased drought, the Forest Service expects another harsh fire season. Nearly 10 million acres burned last year, making 2012 the third most devastating year for wildfires. The Forest Service has declared that 500 fewer firefighters will be employed during 2013 — meaning that 2013 could be even more costly and damaging than 2012. In addition to losing support for fighting wildfires, the Forest Service is considering closing more than 650 recreation sites, including campgrounds and picnic areas to save money. The closing of these areas will not only result

in a loss of visitors, but will also reduce the economic return to communities bordering National Forests. While specifics are still being determined, many local and state governments are stepping up to ensure visitors still feel welcome to explore

surrounding natural areas. As budgets continue to tighten, the NFF strives to make our investments as effective as possible, but we need your support. Please visit www.nationalforests.org to learn how you can help.

A reduced budget means you may see more signs like this.

New Pilot Program

Protects and Restores The Forest Service reported that its new Integrated Resource Restoration (IRR) program protected vulnerable areas from catastrophic and costly wildfire, while also restoring the landscapes’ ecological function at the same time. The pilot program consolidates various initiatives like wildfire prevention, wildlife habitat

improvements, and stream restoration into one budget, allowing the Forest Service to operate more efficiently and strategically. In December of 2011, Congress authorized $146.1 million to implement pilot projects in three regions under the IRR program. IRR allowed landscapescale projects to be funded in a single year and with a single budget instead of being piecemealed together through time as was historically the case. “Integrated Resource Restoration allows us to be more efficient and strateg ic in how we mana g e our forests and grasslands,” Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in a statement. www.nationalforests.org

“We see this program as a model for good management.” The pilot IRR projects occurred in the Forest Service’s Northern Region, Intermountain Region, and Southwestern Region. In addition to the 800,000 acres protected from wildfire, the program also decommissioned 738 miles of roads and enhanced nearly 1,000 miles of stream habitat. In the last year, the NFF conducted two webinars focused on IRR that were designed to provide an opportunity for the Forest Service to engage with partner groups across the country interested in learning more about this pilot program.

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TREE SPOTLIGHT Photos © Ken Knight / Goleta Valley Beautiful; Melinda Fawver / veer.com

Sister Witness tree in Goleta, CA.

The Sycamore By Marlee Ostheimer

I have spent most of my life in Montana, a state known for its wide open spaces and abundant wildlife, and have often thought of my home as a great crossroads for nature. Nearly one quarter of our state is covered in National Forest lands. We have wildlife that easterners would recognize—black bears, white-tailed deer, walleye and bass, but we also have species that exist only in the west—cutthroat trout, grizzly bears, and pronghorn antelope. The diversity here arises from the diversity of landscape encompassed by our massive state. Eastern Montana forms the western reach of the Great Plains, and the western edge of Montana is as far east as the Pacific Northwest ecoregion extends. The state stretches from prairie to temperate rainforest. But, locked in between the towering Rockies and the wide expanse of the Great Plains, we are also geographically isolated, a fact I become acutely aware of studying the distribution of the sycamore tree.

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While the American Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, marches westward from its stronghold in the east, winding its way through eastern pockets of the Great Plains in river bottoms and lowlands, it will likely never cross the great swaths of farmland that blanket the middle section of the United States to find a place among the willows and cottonwoods that line the rivers of Montana. Platanus racemosa, the California Sycamore, is geographically closer, but the Rocky Mountains stand between the warm California coast and the sagebrush slopes I call home. More than just a physical barrier, the mountain range also affects our climate, providing abundant rain for the Idaho Panhandle while those of us to the east of the range only see 14 inches a year. It is unlikely the California Sycamore would find need to leave the long growing season of its home state for the comparably arid landscape of mine. The Arizona Sycamore, Platanus wrightii, while

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existing in similarly dr y climes as Montana, would also have to climb the Rockies to reach us—an unlikely feat. The sycamore is both massive and majestic. Its distinctive bark—a mixture of earth tones including green, tan, creamy white, and dusky yellow—is one of its most striking characteristics. As the tree grows, this colorful outer covering begins to split and flake away, revealing smooth, white bark beneath. Its size is equally impressive. Over a lifetime of 500-600 years, sycamores often grow nearly 100 feet tall with a trunk diameter measuring two to four feet wide, qualifying the sycamore

TREE SPOTLIGHT Photos © Dora Pete / istockphoto.com; MBPhoto, Inc. / istockphoto.com

as one of the largest hardwoods trees. Until 2000, the largest recorded living sycamore in the country was an American Sycamore in Ashland County, Ohio. Comprised of four main stems, the behemoth eventually lost its title to a smaller sycamore with only one main trunk stem. Sycamores are often found with a braided trunk, with one or more of these stems becoming hollow as the tree ages, making them excellent wildlife habitat for species such as the pileated woodpecker, barred owl, great crested flycatchers, chimney swifts and raccoons. Others, the American goldfinch, Carolina

Close up of Sycamore bark.

chickadee, beavers, and the grey squirrel, snack on the seeds of the sycamore, while a great variety of birds use the twisting, spreading branches for nesting. Several years passed before American Forests pacified the residents of Ashland County by reinstating the Ohio tree as the largest. The Washington, DC based non-profit manages the Tree Registry, an online database of the largest known trees, or “National Champions.” But the Ohio tree’s reclaimed status did not hold for long. In 2012, another giant was discovered in Goleta, California. Called “Sister Witness” by locals in reference to the historical events that took place while this tree was growing , the 94-foot-tall California Sycamore measures just over 52 feet in circumference with an average crown span of 95.5 feet. Predating colonization, Sister Witness is a genetically pure

California Sycamore. It is being cloned and replanted throughout the town of Goleta as a restoration effort—giving rise to a new generation of National Champion contenders.

Planning for your future can make a big difference for theirs Including the National Forest Foundation in your estate plan is a simple way to make a lasting gift to the waters, wildlife habitats and wild places treasured by you and your loved ones, and can have profound financial benefits for you as well. The NFF established the National Forest Legacy Society to recognize those generous individuals who have designated a planned gift on behalf of America’s National Forests. To request more information about the National Forest Legacy Society, please contact:

Deborah Snyder: 406-830-3355 dsnyder@nationalforests.org www.nationalforests.org/plannedgiving

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UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES

f o g n i k a M e h

Interviews by Greg Peters

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UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES Photos © Sophie Darlington / Discovery Channel, Nick Lyon / Discovery Channel

On May 19th, the Discovery Channel aired the first episode of its new seven-part series, “North America.” Narrated by award-winning actor Tom Selleck, the series is an epic look at the wildlife, geography and landscape of the North American continent. The NFF’s Greg Peters had a chance to sit down with Series Producer, Huw Codrey, and Executive Producer, Keith Scholey, to discuss what it’s like to make a series like “North America.” The following excerpt captures the essence of what the filmmakers hope their audience takes away from the series and shares some details about how these filmakers approach wildlife filmmaking. To learn more behindthe-scenes details, find out who’s a better narrator, Tom Selleck or Samuel L. Jackson, and discover what happens when a polar bear tries to break into your cabin hundreds of miles from civilization, read the full interviews at: www.nationalforests.org. NFF: Can you tell us a bit about the “North America” series? Codrey: Yes. I think that in a line, it really is the natural history story of North America, how the continent’s landscape and weather have shaped its wild inhabitants. NFF: What’s the primary impression you’re hoping that viewers will get at the end of the series? Codrey: Well for me, I think the overriding impression that I do hope they get is the sense of the enormous variety of landscapes and diversity of wildlife. I mean, the North American continent really is incredible. You’ve got every type of habitat: you’ve got deserts, you’ve got rainforests, you’ve got temperate forests, you’ve got mountains and coasts—great coasts—so it really has everything. So what I really hope, if it’s not already known by the people who live there, what I really hope is that they come away with this sense of incredible variety and diversity. NFF: What would you like viewers to understand most about the wildlife and geography of North America after watching the series? Scholey: I think even for Americans, they probably don’t get just how magnificent it really is. What its huge range is—the scenery, the wildlife. It always continues to surprise me, the more and more I learn about it. It is a magnificent

continent and there are some fantastic things in it. Codrey: But I think also there’s sort of another theme, and it goes back to what I said just earlier about how the landscape shaped its wild inhabitants. I think it’s not pushing it too far to say that there’s a parallel with humans as well—how the North American continent has shaped its human inhabitants, which you might have been able to see in the pioneer spirit; you know, this sort of tough resilience and resourcefulness that a lot of the wildlife has. I think you can see that in some of the American people, particularly in the early pioneers. NFF: Did the geography of the continent shape the way you approached the filming? Codrey: Yes it did. There was one fact that we came across early on, and you know I was almost sort of embarrassed to have discovered this later; but I’m glad I discovered this when I did because I’ve actually lived in the States for two years and travelled around 20 or 30 of the states. But it is something that doesn’t seem to be known by many North Americans either. There is no east-west mountain range, so there’s nothing to stop the cold air from the Arctic meeting the warm air of the South, and that single geological fact has this enormous impact on North America as seen in the extreme weather and, of course, that extreme weather helps shape the animal’s responses. I mean there’s a huge migration of animals between North and South America. Ninety percent of the world’s tornados appear in North America, in tornado alley as it were—the Midwest—so the geography did make an enormous difference to how we thought about this continent. NFF: Did you approach filming a documentary in North America differently than you approach the work you’ve done in Africa or elsewhere around the globe? Scholey: Surprisingly not. I think that with the natural world it’s always the same. Animals, wherever you go, inhabit the same wild places. So that’s pretty similar. www.nationalforests.org

Obviously you have huge advantages in North America with the infrastructure that you have. So you can often do things: you can get to equipment, you can get support in all sorts of ways which would be really tough in certain parts of Africa where in America it’s incredibly easy. I guess on the other side, you have a place that’s well managed, well organized, and that can be more restricting in some ways. I think the approach is always the same. The practicalities are different working in these different places and vary a lot. Mind you, you go into the deserts of Mexico or right up into the northern tundra of Canada and boy, you know you’re in some pretty wild places. NFF: Do you approach a series like “North America” with a fairly rigid and set story-line in mind, or do you tease the stories out after the filming is done and you know what footage you have on hand? Codrey: Good question. I think that when we start one of these big series, we always do a considerable amount of research. So we start off with the best case, and we sort of say, “This is what we want to film, and these examples will help tell the story we want to tell.” But as you sort of intimated, things don’t always work out as

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great stories, but what do they look like? Is it going to be practical to be able to film it, etc.? And all that preparation goes into the scripts that we actually create. Once we’re on the path then, of actually having done that work, then we tend to try and stick to that, because then you’re really committing your money to where you’re going to do the filming. But that said, when you turn up on location, you’ve got the story in mind and you think, “Right, we’re going to do this and this and this.” And you turn up and it’s like, “Hey guys, this doesn’t quite fit the script.” Then we just go with what

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happens. And I think with natural history, you always have that. You know the natural world surprises, and you want to go with the surprises. So yeah, we have a pretty clear and structured way to go forward, but then we’re fluid when we actually get into what’s going on in each sequence. NFF: What’s a typical day like during the production of a series like “North America?” Codrey: It really depends on where you are. If you’re in the office, there’s a lot of planning and logistics of shoots with production coordinators, keeping a tag on the budgets, working out some of the details of a story you want to film with researchers and assistant producers and cameramen. In the field, it’s completely different. It’s getting up extremely early, very often 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, depending on where you are. Sometimes it’s looking for your subjects all day and not finding them. But thankfully in every shoot, there’ll be those moments of serendipity, where you get something you didn’t expect or what you did go out to film happens, and it can all happen in five minutes. I think one of the things to realize about working with wildlife films as opposed to any other television genre is that you can have a two, three, four, five-week shoot and the first four and a half weeks could be utter failure. You may not get anything. You’re working tirelessly. You’re getting up, spending 15 or 16 hours a day trying to get what you set out to get and failing miserably. And then it can all happen on the last day, and the shoot’s a success. NFF: So you got to spend some time in the field on location. What was one of your favorite locations you got to visit? Codrey: This is always a difficult one, and people do ask it a lot. I think I tend to like most places, but the places that stood out for me in this recent filming of “North America” were Labrador, loved Labrador. It’s a remote and wild place. Loved Costa Rica; we spent several weeks on the west coast in a national park there and that was fantastic. Loved the mountains of British Columbia. In terms of the U.S., I think the deserts of Utah and Arizona are just tough to beat. I absolutely love the Badlands. I actually lived there for a year, but we filmed there several times for “North America.” I

Photos © Nick Lyon / Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel

planned, so I think that you have to adapt as you go. I’ve worked on very few of these big natural history series where we’ve ended up exactly with what we started with in terms of the sequence and content. Mostly you are adapting as you go along. Scholey: The process we go through is that we first try and take the big picture and think, “What is the best way to break this continent up into different subjects?” And then once we’ve done that, we drill into what are the great stories, and we research and research and research to find those stories. Part of that is not just what are the

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES think the Badlands is just an amazing place that really few people seem to know about. I also really, really like the Sonoran Desert. So there’s a handful of places, no one place. It’s very hard to pick out just one place in a continent like North America. Scholey: Yeah I did a few trips. I always try and do that, because in my job if you don’t, you forget how difficult it is. [Laughs] You get demanding on people, and start saying, “Oh why didn’t you come back with that?” And then you go out on location and you remember, this isn’t really very easy. NFF: How do you avoid anthropo morphizing animals and imposing human values and judgments on their actions? Codrey: Another good question, and a question that does come up a lot. Whenever people talk about anthropomorphizing, it’s always said in a negative context, but personally I don’t think it should be avoided. For me it’s always about how far you take it. Everyone knows where their line is. When I see something that goes too far, it’s turning the animals into little people. As long the animals are still animals, I don’t think, personally, that I mind a little bit of anthropomorphizing. Because after all, what we’re trying to do is reel in our audience. I think if there’s some way you can give a recognizable context to a story that an audience that is not familiar with these wild animals and that may even only have a passing interest in nature can sort of understand, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. That’s what we’re trying to do; we’re trying to engage with our audience. So for me, it’s not a bad thing, it just depends on how far you go. And I don’t think we’ve gone too far. NFF: Keith, you’ve produced television and feature films for BBC and Disney, is it different producing a series like “North America” for Discovery and a solidly American television audience? Scholey: I think it is, and I’d be wrong to say or to claim credit for getting that side of it right. We have worked very, very closely with the Discovery team to get this series right for the North American audience. We’re a bunch of Brits. We come from the British television world, and we’ve come together with Discovery, really taking a lot of their guidance and leadership, on

how to make it more relevant for a North American television audience. NFF: How do you handle the incredible logistics of producing a series like this? You had 51 camera crew members, capturing 110 animals, during more than 2,800 days of filming. It must be a nightmare or an incredible adventure or both. Scholey: I think planning is really the essential part of wildlife film making. We do as much preparation before we set off so we don’t get surprises. The unsung hero is the production coordinator—the person who actually gets all of the stuff in the right place at the right time, and all the right people too, and they have a huge role in what we do. Often for the cameramen and women, they just kind of turn up and there’s all the kit and where they go. So I think, part of what we do, I think what we really pride ourselves on, is being able to organize things. Clearly you’ve got to get your money to stretch as far as possible as well, so your timing is often critical. You need to be there for exactly the right time for when the action’s going to happen. You don’t want to be there for too long and wasting money, but you’ve got to be there for long enough so that you can get what you’re trying to get. So knowledge and planning are really important. NFF: What advice would you give any budding nature film makers out there? Codrey: Well, it’s actually a phrase that comes in one of Bon Jovi’s songs in the opening titles. They licensed a Bon Jovi song for the opening titles, and there’s a line in it and it’s “Never Give Up.” And actually without being cheesey about this, that is the advice I normally give people when they ask me about getting into wildlife films. You know it’s quite a small business, a lot of people want to do it, and you have to have a lot of perseverance. We talked about the perseverance when you’re in the field, when you’re trying to get the shots, but actually you need a lot of perseverance to get in. Everyone can tell stories about serendipity and the luck of just being in the right place at the right time. But it’s knocking on doors, it’s working for free very often, it’s getting out there and showing you’re absolutely passionate for it. So if you’re easily put off by rejection, I don’t think you’d make it in this business. www.nationalforests.org

The making of

North America

Over three years in production 110 animals filmed 2,830 days of filming

250 separate filming expeditions 29 U.S. States 8 Canadian Provinces 10 countries, stretching from the Arctic Circle to the Panama Canal 51 camera crew members Over 14,000 miles travelled to capture tornado footage 120 hours of flight to capture aerial footage of wolves hunting bison 600 hours of flight in helicopters More than 850 hours of HD footage filmed 91 camera days spent filming prairie dogs, bison, and rattlesnakes in the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota A dozen cameras filming simultaneously for more than six months to capture footage of the desert jaguar roduction Facts courtesy of P Discovery Channel

Available on

dvd & b lu -ray

Can’t g et enoug h of “North America?” In July, the DVD box set of “North America” will be available through Discovery.com and wherever DVDs are sold. A Blu-ray version will be available through the same venues in October, just in time for the holidays. For more information and details on “North America” visit: discovery.com/northamerica

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UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES

Photos from Friends

Is it possible to capture the beauty of 193 million acres of National Forests and Grasslands? Over the years, our Friends of the Forest, staff and partners have certainly tried. We want to share a handful of our favorites and inspire you to explore a new forest near you!

nal Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Natio es rr To ella Forest by St

Bitterroot National Forest by Sasha Victor

al Forest Tonto Nation ajkut by Jon M

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Shawnee Nati on by Michelle Tal Forest urner www.nationalforests.org

Background Photo © sorendls / istockphoto.com

Lolo National Forest by Wes Swaffar

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES

Targhee National Forest by Terry Quinn Beaverhead-Deerlodge Na tio Forest by Hannah Ettemanal

Humboldt-Toiy a Forest by S be National usan Elliot

al Forest Sierra Nationwaffar by Wes S

Pisgah National Forest by Jeff Clark

Coconino Nati ona by Brienne M l Forest agee

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FIELD REPORTS

On the Range

Partner: North Fork John Day Watershed Council, Malheur National Forest

On the Malheur National Forest, in Grant County Oregon, conflict over range management has been a protracted issue. Lawsuits, challenges to management plans, and long standing differences between community members have threatened the future of grazing on the Malheur. Ranching, a primary economic industry in this corner of Oregon, is seen by some as incompatible with the various vegetative communities and rich spawning grounds for the steelhead, bull trout, and Chinook salmon that call the Malheur home. Yet, ranchers depend on historical access to these public lands for their economic and cultural prosperity. In 2012, the North Fork John Day Watershed Council, with a Community

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

Capacity and Land Stewardship (CCLS) Grant from the NFF, supported efforts to create collaborative solutions for improved range management practices on the forest. A mindful approach to collaboration, including a deep respect for the culture and legacy of ranching in this region, allowed a diverse group of U.S. Forest Service managers, permittees, and business operators to convene and discuss ways to move past their historically intractable differences. Initially, tension was so high among the forest user and management community that the Council used anonymous interviews to gather input. The results of these interviews culminated in a paper that triggered a series of positive steps and helped

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bring about face-to-face conversations that had never happened before. Through the NFF’s grant, a professional facilitator moderate d the g roup conversation, improving communication and building positive relationships. The participants donated hundreds of hours to the process, disseminating monitoring results, creating a workshop to address watershed health, crafting best practices and preparing an action plan. In the first year after ranchers applied the collaborative’s suggestions, the ecological condition of all pastures met or exceeded pre-established standards for upland and riparian conditions—a significant accomplishment!

Photo © North Fork John Day Watershed Council

Collaboration

FIELD REPORTS Photo © Wild South

Improving Wilderness

Character in mississippi Partner: Wild South, DeSoto National Forest

In 2004, the U.S. Forest Service issued a Stewardship Challenge to bring Wilderness Areas up to baseline management standards by 2014—the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The NFF’s Wilderness Stewardship Challenge (WSC) grant program has helped meet this important goal by providing funding for nonprofit partners to complete stewardship work

that directly benefits Wilderness Areas. Through a WSC grant, the conservation group Wild South trained and managed a cadre of “Wilderness Rangers” for two Mississippi-based Wilderness Areas that were not meeting the agency’s baseline management standards—Black Creek Wilderness and Leaf Wilderness. Black Creek Wilderness is laden with a diverse mix of southern hardwood forests and encompasses a flood plain full of oxbow lakes and white sand bars that flank Black Creek—Mississippi’s only designated Wild and Scenic River. The tiny Leaf Wilderness, a 994-acre tract of loblolly and shortleaf pines with a dense understory of dogwood, redbud, persimmon and honeysuckle, is home to the 1.5 mile Leaf Trail—one of the area’s main attractions. The Wilderness R angers worked to ensure that both Wilderness Areas

benefited from the successful treatment of invasive plants, protection of solitude and primitive recreation, recreational site inventory, and updates on resource conditions and priority information for managers. These once neglected Wilderness Areas will continue to benefit from the Wilderness Rangers’ ongoing efforts to educate the diverse groups who use them for solitude and escape. As the WSC grant program demonstrates, developing the skill set of volunteers and expanding partnerships increases participation in the stewardship of National Forests and Wilderness Areas. Appreciation of wilderness resources through education and community involvement provides a high quality wilderness experience for all, while ensuring these areas endure for future generations.

Clean, Cold, and Connected Montana Trout Habitat Partner: Trout Unlmited, Bitterroot National Forest Roads on National Forests are critical to Americans enjoying and accessing our public lands. From driving scenic byways to accessing trailheads for backcountry recreation, roads provide opportunities for relaxation and rejuvenation. But roads aren’t always good. In fact, unmaintained and unnecessary roads can cause significant problems for wildlife, especially for fish. In forests with too many roads, Forest Service staff and conservation groups work to reduce the negative impacts that these roads cause to fisheries by decommissioning, or removing and recontouring roads. Road decommissioning reduces sediment load into streams and restores the infiltration of water, improving natural hydrology and habitat.

The Bitterroot Watershed Partnership (BWP) was born in early 2011 to improve watershed health in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley and the adjacent Bitterroot National Forest. Trout Unlimited, a long time NFF partner and participant in the BWP, had worked with local groups for years to utilize a number of factors such as land use history and conservation plans to prioritize streams for restoration. On the Bitterroot National Forest, Piquett Creek was deemed a high priority for restoration due to the compromised habitat for west slope cutthroat trout and the risk to federally threatened bull trout. Clean, cold, and connected habitat is the key for fish survival and often this requires removing old roads to reduce barriers and sedimentation. The BWP’s efforts led to the U.S. Forest

www.nationalforests.org

Service decommissioning 23 miles of roads impacting Piquett Creek. Once the roads were eliminated, revegetation work could begin. Trout Unlimited, with the help of a challenge grant from the NFF, engaged volunteers in a portion of this work by reseeding and planting native trees and shrubs on the decommissioned roads. Community members learned about the importance of fish habitat and participated in volunteer events to restore a portion of these critical watersheds. Post-restoration monitoring will ensure that the improvements to watershed function and soil productivity will be entered into a U.S. Forest Service database for future analysis and ultimately result in improved forest management.

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TREASURED LANDSCAPES

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest by Greg Peters

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www.nationalforests.org

TREASURED LANDSCAPES alone provide a lifetime of possibility for climbers. Nine Wilderness Areas provide solitude and respite for those seeking escape from the increasingly urban valleys. And of course, the famed canyons of the UWC—Big and Little Cottonwood, Mill Creek, and Parleys—lead to some of the best skiing in the world, drawing countless powder hounds every winter in search of “the best snow on earth.” Bordering the UWC is the Wasatch Front, an 80-mile stretch of communities that are some of the nation’s fastest growing towns. From Ogden south to Provo, the Wasatch Front houses 80 percent of Utah’s residents. A thriving industry of outdoor gear manufacturers and innovative technology companies have grown alongside traditional agricultural and mining industries. The region has garnered national attention for its quality of life and booming economy, but this growth is jeopardizing the UWC’s capacity to provide the water, recreational opportunities, and physical and cultural amenities that are drawing people and business to the Front.

Mountains and Wildlife

Be a

IDAHO

Cache NF

Logan

Salt Lake City Wasatch NF

Wasatch NF

Ogden

Provo

WYOMING

Ashley NF

Heber City

Vernal

Gre en Riv er

Great Salt Lake

rR iver

Sawtooth NF

Strawberry Res

NEVADA

oR ive r

UTA H

Fishlake NF

Dixie NF

Lake Powell

COLORADO

Uinta NF

Manti-La Sal NF

Moab

Manti-La Sal NF

Rising straight up from the flats of the Great Basin Desert, the Wasatch Mountain Range towers over the eastern edge of Salt Lake City. These craggy peaks are the heart of the 2.1-million-acre Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (UWC). Stretching north for 90 miles from Salt Lake City to the Utah-Idaho border and south 50 miles from Salt Lake before shifting northeast to the border of Wyoming, the UWC is an immense and awe-inspiring backyard for the 2.1 million residents who live in its shadows. A Treasured Landscapes site, the UWC is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Eight Scenic Byways snake through the Forest, while seemingly endless mountain biking and hiking trails lure residents and visitors to lung-busting summits. More than 300 sport climbing routes in Logan Canyon www.nationalforests.org

Forming the western edge of the Rockies and marking the east boundary of the Great Basin Desert, the Wasatch Range is located at an important geographic crossroads where arid plains, rich riparian zones and alpine peaks meet. The lowland valleys and foothills are dominated by sagebrush, rabbitbrush and serviceberry. Conifer forests of Douglas fir, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce dominate the upper landscape, with lodgepole pine stands populating the eastern part of the forest. Aspen are the most common deciduous tree in the area, their brilliant autumn gold sweeping across the forest each fall. Cottonwood stands along river corridors and Gambel Oak in the dry canyons and foothills also add to the UWC’s fall color palette. The UWC is a wildlife haven. Elk, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, white-tailed deer, and mule deer graze across a variety of habitats and ecosystems. Brook trout and cutthroat trout haunt streams and high mountain lakes. Beaver paddle through riparian zones and black bear, mountain lion, and bobcat prowl the forest in search

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TREASURED LANDSCAPES Modern Economies and Modern Problems

Lone Eagle Peak above Mirror Pond

A Rich History

The human history of the forest stretches back some 12,000 years to the arrival of the early mammoth hunters and the subsequent Fremont civilization. In more recent centuries, the Northwest Shoshoni, Goshute, Ute, and Eastern Shoshone tribes populated the region. The explorers of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition, on their way from Santa Fe to the Spanish Missions in California, were the first Europeans to pass through the area. Trappers began to arrive in the 1820s in search of the beaver pelts so coveted for fashionable men’s hats. Famous and infamous trappers like Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith all set their traps in the area’s streams during the mountain man heyday. Even the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache’s name reflects its rich history. “Uinta” is a derivative of the Ute word Yoov-we-teuh meaning “pine tree” or “pine forest” and “Wasatch” is also a Ute word, translated as “low place in the high mountains.” The origins of “Cache” can be traced to the influence of the French fur trappers. The French word for “to hide,” a cache is what trappers called the secret place they would store their pelts until they were traded or sold at the next rendezvous. By 1846, wagon trails leading to the distant dream of California passed through the canyons and valleys of the region. Newly arriving Mormon settlers depended on the land for everything from livestock grazing to building supplies as they developed their settlements, and later, their cities. Today you can still visit the historic quarries on the forest that provided the stone for the famous Latter Day Saints temple in Salt Lake City. In the early 1860s, the legendary

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

Mt. Superior

Wasatch Range in Autumn

Pony Express passed through the Salt Lake Valley en route to California. Hikes along National Historic Trails follow the routes of the swift Pony Express riders and hearty California pioneers and Mormon settlers, providing a unique opportunity to retrace their steps. Twin mining and railroad booms impacted the UWC in the mid-19th century. By the late 1860s and early 1870s a well-developed system of smelters were processing silver, lead and zinc throughout the region. At the same time, timber was being harvested across the landscape on a large scale by loggers known as “tie hackers” for use in the miles of new railroad being laid across the West. In 1869, when the transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, the last ties laid were made of wood from the UWC. Both booms brought diversity to the area, with immigrants from Asia, Mexico, and all corners of Europe arriving in search of new opportunities.

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Today, the rich recreational resources of UWC are drawing a new wave of settlers to the valleys and towns that dot the Wasatch Front. But this influx of newcomers comes with its own set of problems. Eighty percent of the watershed that slacks Salt Lake City’s thirst is contained within the UWC. City officials and the Forest Service have co-managed the Forest’s water supplies ever since Gifford Pinchot visited Salt Lake City in 1905 to stress the importance of managing the Forest for its water resources. Recreational pressures, a growing population, and a changing climate have stressed the UWC’s ability to provide this invaluable resource and officials are now trying to plan for the next one hundred years. The NFF’s Treasured Landscapes conservation campaign is addressing these issues through proactive restoration and careful planning that will bolster the Forest’s capacity to provide both unparalleled recreational opportunities and clean water to the area’s growing population. We are leading a diverse collaborative called the Wasatch Watershed Legacy Partnership, made up of ski resorts, community organizations, industry, and Federal and State agencies that are tackling these resource concerns. Our restoration priorities include addressing water quality issues, improving wildlife and fisheries habitat, removing invasive weeds, and building sustainable recreation infrastructure. Our success in meeting these challenges rests in the spirit of collaboration and community that permeates this region. The close-knit communities of the Wasatch Front echo the historical ties that settlers established when they first arrived to this arid and unforgiving landscape. New recreational opportunities have given rise to social communities where skiers, bikers and climbers meet for first tracks or group rides. Our efforts are grounded in working with these communities, both physical and social, to create opportunities and solutions for ensuring that the UWC can continue to provide the natural and cultural resources to the Wasatch Front for the coming generations.

Photos © Steven Bratman; Bruce Tremper; USFS

of prey. The area is especially rich with avian life, with neo-tropical birds arriving each year from as far south as Argentina. The Bear River, which is the longest river in the Western Hemisphere that doesn’t flow into an ocean, is one of the most important nesting areas for migrating waterfowl. Over 200 species, from tundra swans to cinnamon teals, arrive each fall, their total numbers exceeding half a million. The watershed is also rich in aquatic life; the Bonneville cutthroat trout, a sensitive species, is a yearround resident of the Bear River.

ConserVAtion

Full Package

Approach By Karen DiBari

Dramatic headlines about disagreements over how to manage our invaluable National Forests have for years highlighted the polarized state of public lands issues. Stories about lawsuits, personal threats, court orders, and disorderly public meetings have dominated the media. And yet, recently there’s been a shift in the tone of discussion. More and more frequently, the media have reported on unlikely bedfellows who are working together—voluntarily—to understand each other’s perspective rather than fight. Through meetings and field trips, neutral facilitation, and the sharing of ideas and perspectives, immovable positions have gradually shifted, making room for interestbased discussions. These discussions have led to new relationships, agreements, and changes in what happens on the ground.

NFF’s Vision

“Our multi-pronged approach includes: funding, coaching and mentoring, capacity building workshops, peer learning, and professional facilitation services.”

Collaboration is a centerpiece of the National Forest Foundation’s work. In all our strategies to restore our National Forests and Grasslands and build community engagement, we strive to unite the power of diverse interests and communities in collaborative stewardship. It is amazing what can happen when people sit down together, recognize that a special place bonds them, and begin to talk. The NFF believes scenes like this are the key to sustaining the commitment and ability of communities to serve as future stewards of our public lands. Over the years (see timeline), the NFF has played a critical role in supporting collaborative groups to build capacity and gain traction through funding, technical assistance, and facilitation. Our unique relationship with the Forest Service as a Congressionally-chartered, independent nonprofit helps us serve as a bridge between the agency and the hundreds of citizen-based groups who care about the National Forest System. www.nationalforests.org

A National Movement Towards Collaborative Restoration

In the past few years, collaboration has become a buzzword in public lands management, spoken in the halls of Congress, Forest Service offices, rural towns and grassroots organizations. The recent growth in the number of citizen-driven efforts that bring people with differing— and often conflicting—interests together with the Forest Service for constructive problem solving is a testament to the power of collaboration. The Forest Ser vice has embraced collaboration as a strateg y to advance its mission in a variety of areas. In both internal and external communications, Forest Service leadership is encouraging its employees to move beyond traditional public involvement strategies to active collaboration. Rather than relying on public hearings and formal comment periods, which are required under the National Environmental Policy Act, diverse interests are forming collaborative groups and meeting early with the Forest Service to discuss project plans before they are solidified. Those joint discussions continue throughout the proposal development process, implementation, and monitoring phases. New programs like the agency’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program illustrate just how important collaboration has become. Additionally, partnership coordinators have joined the ranks of foresters, line officers, and biologists in the Forest Service. The agency’s National Partnership Office (NPO), founded in 2003, works to increase its effectiveness in partnering and collaborating with citizens, communities, non-governmental organizations, and others. Seeing an opportunity to put our knowledge and experience to use, the NFF joined with the NPO to build and host a website dedicated to providing resources

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ConserVAtion Col·lab·o·ra·tion:

A voluntary process through which a broad array of interests— some of which may be in conflict—enter into civil dialogue to collectively consider possibilities for improving the management of natural resources for the benefit of both the environment and the surrounding communities. Collaboration is different from a partnership, in that collaboration involves a diverse and comprehensive array of stakeholders; a partnership is likely to engage a few parties that are interested in working together on a specific project. (adapted from David D. Chrislip, 2002)

NFF at the table Tongass Futures Roundtable Tongass National Forest, Alaska Front Range Roundtable Pike-San Isabel National Forest, Colorado Utah Forest Restoration Working Group Utah

Panhandle Forest Collaborative Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Idaho* Beaverhead-Deerlodge Working Group Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana Montana Forest Restoration Working Group Montana Midewin Stakeholders Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Illinois* Wasatch Legacy Project Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah* Camp Hale— Eagle River Headwaters White River National Forest, Colorado* * Denotes collaboratives established as part of the NFF’s Treasured Landscapes conservation campaign.

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The Full Package

Through the NFF’s decade-plus of work in the field of collaborative conservation, we have recognized the importance and effectiveness of a “full package” approach to support community-based conservation. Our multi-pronged approach includes: funding, coaching and mentoring, capacitybuilding workshops, peer learning, and professional facilitation services. This continuum of assistance is fundamental to our work and provides a menu of services that enables customized support of collaborative groups. When funding is combined with informational resources, expertise and access to other organizations facing the same challenges, collaborative groups are more likely to succeed. By utilizing the “full package” approach, the NFF ensures that local partners and the Forest Service have the financial support, the tools and resources, and in some cases, the professional facilitation that will engender success.

Leadership and Professionalism

Silver Glen Springs Working Group Ocala National Forest, Florida*

for collaborative partnerships. We also co-authored “The Partnership Guide” with the Forest Service, an important document offering information to community nonprofits and agency staff to help each understand how the other operates.

The NFF focuses its support on people and the forests where they work and play. As a neutral convener and facilitator, we bring differing viewpoints together for constructive dialogue. Our expertise in facilitation, knowledge of the Forest Service and natural resource issues, and familiarity and experience with different approaches to collaboration are a unique combination. NFF staff assess community willingness to participate in collaboratives, ensure key interests are represented and balanced, develop governance documents, and facilitate a fair, open, and honest process. Our technical assistance program, “Conser vation Connect: A Learning Network for Collaboration,” serves both community-based groups and Forest Service employees. Our objectives are to provide opportunities for people to talk with each other despite the challenges of

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www.nationalforests.org

distance and differing backgrounds, share what they’ve learned, and access the tools and resources they need to improve upon their collaborative work. Key elements include: • Web-based peer learning sessions—short presentations and roundtable discussions about key topics relevant to collaboration and restoration on National Forests & Grasslands; • Web-based summaries of tools, best practices and relevant examples of collaboration that create a “toolbox” of shared knowledge; • Customized, service-oriented coaching over the phone or in person; • Peer mentoring, in which two community leaders are matched and work together for one year, supporting and assisting each other; • Collaboration and Capacity-building workshops, in which the NFF brings together collaborative leaders to learn from each other and receive training.

SHARING IDEAS

As a national organization, we have knowledge of collaborative efforts across the country and can highlight excellent examples and practices to share with others. The NFF has built our suite of services around peer learning because we believe that community-based collaborators are experts in their work, and that people naturally learn by sharing ideas about current, real-world challenges. The work is as rewarding as it is productive. Time and again, we have witnessed the excitement generated by sharing ideas and solving problems. Our National Forests and Grasslands are at the core of America’s natural riches, and yet today these treasures are threatened by unprecedented challenges. The NFF believes that collaboration is a fundamental tool to solve the restoration needs on our public lands. Our efforts to bolster the collaborative capacity of groups across the country have served a dual purpose. We have helped lay the ground work for critical restoration projects, and we have provided communities with tools and resources to address challenges into the future.

ConserVAtion NFF's Collaboration Timeline 2001

2007

2011

On the ground grant programs begin.

First peer mentorships established. Partner eNews, now “Taproot,” is launched. NFF offers its first Peer Learning Session.

WestCAN is expanded nationwide. Renamed Conservation Connect: A Learning Network for Collaboration. Peer learning session format is changed to web conferencing. Conservation Connect blog is launched.

NFF begins working with the first ten Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program collaboratives.

NFF holds its 125th Peer Learning Session, exceeding 5,000 participants since inception.

2002

Collaborative Capacity Building grants program is launched.

2004

First capacity building workshop held.

2006

Western Collaboration Assistance Network (WestCAN) is launched.

2008 2010

2013

Providing the Glue

A Case Study in the NFF’s Collaborative Investments Natural resources define local economies and cultures in rural Southeast Alaska. Informed natural resource management and stewardship at the local level is critical for ensuring the sustainable development, restoration, and conservation of these resources. In 2002, after decades of intractable disagreements, six communities formed watershed councils to advance stewardship projects and programs in their local watersheds. Recognizing that there was a need for strong community-based organizations to partner with federal agencies in restoration efforts, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Forest Foundation invested in building the capacity of these watershed councils. In 2008, with funds from the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, the NFF assessed the organizational needs of the six groups. Following the assessments, the NFF provided in-depth coaching and training in board development, managing financial systems, strategic planning and visioning, f undra ising , and working effe ctively with agencies. In addition to technical assistance, the NFF provided grant funding to each group to enable them to build their organizational capacity by purchasing computers and software, printers, and GIS tools. Due to the vastness of Southeast Alaska, informed natural resource management

requires significant collaboration between resource managers, NGOs and communitybased organizations. The combination of isolated rural towns reachable only by plane or boat and poor communications infrastructure pose significant challenges to successful coordinating the collaborative efforts. The increased organizational capacity and improved understanding of project and program needs provided by the NFF created an opportunity for the local watershed councils to come together to develop the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition (SAWC). This regional coalition began elevating the programs, projects, and priorities of local community-based watershed management and stewardship efforts and coordinated a network to exchange and share information and resources. In 2009, the NFF provided a capacity grant to SAWC’s regional leaders to hire a full time coordinator, Jess Kayser. With support from the NFF’s peer mentoring program in 2010, Jess was paired with the Executive Director of the Network of Oregon Watershed Councils for a year-long mentoring program. Now the Executive Director of SAWC, Jess has leveraged her experiences and is serving as an NFF peer-mentor to the leader of the newly-formed Prince of Wales Watershed Association.

www.nationalforests.org

SAWC is now a regional leader in supporting its member watershed councils and providing the connective “glue” that sustains continued networking and learning amongst the groups. As an organization, SAWC leads workshops, partners with multiple agencies, and pursues major regional restoration strategies, building on the support and experience provided by the NFF’s multi-year investment in SAWC’s capacity, skillset, and organizational infrastructure. The story of the watershed councils in Southeast Alaska exemplifies the NFF's philosophy and approach of building upon the strength of communities so that they have the tools and organizational foundations to sustain stewardship efforts over the long term. “It is clear to SAWC and our member groups that NFF and their staff believe that we—as local organizations—have the knowledge and experience to steward our natural resources. This trust is critical to any strategic partnership. The National Forest Foundation has been instrumental in building capacity in local communities throughout Southeast Alaska. The achievements that have resulted from their investments demonstrate that their community development philosophy is a central factor to these successes.” Jess Kayser, Executive Director, SAWC. Learn more about SAWC and their efforts here: www.alaskawatershedcoalition.org

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VOICES FROM THE FOREST Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Regenerating our Natural Identity By Char Miller

For more than a century, America’s Nationa l Forests have prove d an environmental gift and cultural treasure— our spectacular backyard. But this system of public lands has become increasingly vulnerable to the cumulative consequences of past management practices and a warming climate (see side bar). Fortunately, these invaluable places are being restored as part of the National Forest Foundation’s Treasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences conservation campaign. It is a broad, encompassing and, perhaps most importantly, a collaborative campaign designed not only to repair portions of our remarkable system of National Forests, but also to increase the capacity of local communities to play

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

a critical role in managing and restoring their backyard forests and grasslands. This approach marks a historic shift in land-management strategies. Until the 1980s, public lands management was often a top-down process, where decisions were made with little public consultation or input. The Forest Service and other land managers in the United States were frequently criticized for stewarding the public lands without accounting for alternative insights or knowledge, and this backdrop led to grassroots protests and legal challenges in the federal courts. B eg inn ing with the Nationa l Environmental Policy Act (1970) and a series of other public-access initiatives that the federal courts have upheld, and

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www.nationalforests.org

driven by budgetary shortfalls that have hampered careful management of our National Forests, the Forest Service has become increasingly open to private sector partnerships and community engagement. The NFF has reinforced these efforts by supporting hundreds of community-based non-profits and the Forest Service to encourage and enhance the involvement of civil society. Collaboration is a hallmark of the NFF’s Treasured Landscapes conservation campaign. Focusing on 14 specific projects, from Alaska to Florida and New England to the southwest, the campaign has identified a particular set of challenges that the NFF and its many collaborators hope to resolve. On Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass

VOICES FROM THE FOREST Photos © Bill Glass (opposite); USFS

Trees clog Lightning Creek.

National Forest, for example, the goal is to rehabilitate the once-heavily logged Twelvemile Creek watershed. Restoration of longleaf-pine and Florida scrub habitats of the endangered Florida Scrub Jay is framing the work on the Ocala National Forest. In central Oregon on the Deschutes National Forest, the partners are focused on mitigating human impacts and restoring historic runs of native salmon and steelhead trout, while on the Coconino National Forest the objective is to enhance migration corridors for elk and pronghorn and regenerate wildfire-scorched watersheds. At many of these sites, the benefits to wildlife and people are quite encouraging. Fish have returned to restored rivers in Colorado and Oregon, and the NFF has planted more than four million trees since the campaign began, increasing the forests’ capacity to sequester carbon, offer muchneeded wildlife habitat, and improving the forests’ aesthetic value. These successes flow from the collaborative strateg y that has been a central tenet of the NFF’s approach to conservation since Congress established it in 1991 as the official non-profit partner of the U. S. Forest Service. Through its Conservation Connect program, which is designed to serve community-based groups and Forest Service employees committed to collaborative restoration, it offers peer learning, technical assistance and training, and the facilitation of cooperative endeavors. In short, Conservation Connect provides a full tool kit of shared knowledge. This approach honors and builds on the Forest Service’s founding principles. In 1905, Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest Service, articulated the public’s role managing the National Forests. He argued that these remarkable forests and grasslands were “made for and owned by the people.” Pinchot’s belief had clear policy implications: “if the National Forests are going to accomplish anything worthwhile,” Pinchot asserted, “the people must know all about them and must take a very active role in their management.” Through the NFF’s suite of programs, “the people” are again taking an active role in

the cumulative consequences With heart-stopping force, a flood in 2006 crashed down the Lightning Creek watershed in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest: at its peak, the flow of this normally languid stream surged from 12 cubic feet per second to 18,700. While little can resist such grinding power, historic upland logging and a dense road grid intensified the flood, resulting in gouged out streambeds and washed out roads. Moisture-laden Tropical Storm Irene, when it tore into New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest in 2011, left behind a similar mess. Packing high winds and dropping upwards of ten inches of rain in an hour, the storm splintered and uprooted hardwood forests, sheared off stream banks, crashed through campgrounds and recreation areas, and gullied trails; the forest’s aquatic habitat was choked with sediment. No such cyclonic force ripped into the South Prairie Creek Outwash Plain, a significant geological feature giving shape to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in northeastern Illinois, but human manipulation of the site has proved just as disruptive. Once the location of the Joliet Arsenal, a key manufacturer of TNT and other munitions for the U. S. Army, the plant’s operations degraded thousands of acres and its toxic runoff turned nearby creeks blood-red.

the management of their National Forests. As the Treasured Landscapes campaign addresses the restoration challenges outlined at each site, these forests and grasslands will once again provide the natural and social capital of which they are capable. Lightning Creek will withstand its next flood, Midewin will team with birds and native grasses, and the ancient White Mountains will weather the next hurricane hurled upon their hardwood forests. By updating the principled conviction articulated by Pinchot, the NFF is perpetuating his legacy for the next one hundred years. www.nationalforests.org

About the Author

Char Miller is the Director of the Environmental Analysis Program and W.M Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College in California. Mr. Miller is a Senior Fellow at the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, and author most recently of Public Lands, Public Debates: A Center of Controversy and On the Edge: Water, Immigration, and Politics in the Southwest. His weekly column, Golden Green, which focuses on environmental issues in California and the west, can be found at

www.kcet.org/news/the_back_forty/

commentary/golden-green/

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YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

KIDS & NATURE

Birding

with kids by Marlee Ostheimer

Birds are less elusive than many other kinds of wildlife and provide valuable lessons in ecology—the interaction between animals and their environment. You can watch a robin pulling a wriggling red worm from the ground right in your backyard or set up near a river and watch for an osprey to make a catch! Kids enjoy watching birds at any age. See below for some activities that will get your kids excited about birds and encourage them to explore the natural world around them.

What You’ll Need

Binoculars There are binoculars made especially for kids, but any good pair will do. If you have a choice, a pair of hiking binoculars can be particularly nice as they pack down well and are light enough to be worn around the neck. Field Guide A good field guide is invaluable and readily available. You can find one at your library or check with your local Audubon chapter. See Bird Watching Tips on how to avoid misidentifying your bird. You can also check out bird apps available online. They can be a good way of getting older, gadget-oriented kids into the field. Field Journal The importance of a field journal cannot be overestimated! A journal gives your child a place to sketch or draw their specimen, include names of those birds you’ve observed, and other important information like weather, habitat, and the date and time of observation. Extra Food and Clothes Remember to bring extra food, water and clothes. A hungry child or a sudden rain storm can make for a short trip or make your kids wish they were back home watching TV.

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

where to go?

Check out your local National Forest! You can find birds in a variety of habitats (including your own backyard), but you will have the best luck at dusk or dawn in healthy, intact forest or prairie ecosystems, near bodies of water, and at “habitat boundaries,” the edge between two habitat types such as a field and forest. Encounter new birds by visiting different habitat types. Remember to give birds plenty of space, especially around nesting and feeding sites. Some birds, like swans and geese, may become aggressive if you approach too closely.

In the field

Field Journal Make your own bird book. Sketch the birds you see, including some simple observational facts on the habitat and location of where the bird was seen. Use your field guide or a photo taken of the bird to color your drawings.

Bird Watching Tips

Study Silhouettes When a bird is flying, it can be especially difficult to identify. Instead of focusing on color, pay attention to the shape of its body, beak, tail, wings and legs. Ask yourself the following questions: • Is the body short or long? Narrow or round? • Is its beak short or long? Thin or wide? Is it shaped like a hook? • Is the bird’s tail rounded, square, pointed or forked? • Are the wings rounded or pointed? • Are its legs short or long? Determine Category Birds generally belong to one of eight categories. Use your field guide and observations to help categorize your bird. 1. Ducks and duck-like birds

Mimicking Bird Songs Listen to the sounds the birds in your backyard make and try to mimic them. This is a great exercise for learning to identify birds without even seeing them.

2. Gulls and terns

Pin the Feather on the Bird Collect feathers while you are out in the field and see if you can identify to what kind of bird they belong. Tape some of the feathers into the field journal with sketches of the bird.

6. Birds of prey

Bring the Birds to You Building a birdhouse with your kids is a fun activity. You can also hang a bird feeder to attract birds. Sunflower seeds will attract most birds, but you can do some research about the particular kinds of birds you want to attract and what will be most appealing to them.

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www.nationalforests.org

3. Long-legged waders 4. Shorebirds and small waders 5. Fowl-like birds 7. Flycatchers 8. Warblers

Find more good ideas

goexplorenature.com biglearning.com/treasurebirds.htm birdfreak.com audubon.org birds.cornell.edu

Where in the woods? Red blueberry bushes.

Any g uesses as to which National Forest this is ? This particular area resembles landscapes much farther north in Canada—rocky, high-altitude plateau with stunted trees, wind-carved boulders, and grassy meadows interspersed with wet bogs. Within a day’s drive for millions, this National Forest is known for its diversity in flora, fauna and weather. Be prepared for it all! See page 29 for the answer.

www.nationalforests.org

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YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

corporate partners corner

Shows Your Love

Want to show your love for forests? NFF has again teamed up with Sonadei, a unique apparel design company based in Seattle, to offer a new version of our stylish t-shirts that support our National Forests. Sonadei donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these shirts to the NFF to support our work. Additionally, for those travelling through central Oregon, Cascade Cottons in Bend, OR is selling a custom designed bike jersey that supports restoration of the Deschutes National Forest. Stay tuned for more designs as well. Future jerseys will feature other forests where the NFF has Treasured Landscapes campaign sites—from Alaska’s Tongass to Florida’s Ocala.

Bike Jersey

Proceeds from the sale of the bike jersey, the first in a series dedicated to our National Forests, will directly support conservation and restoration projects along two of Oregon’s most loved Wild and Scenic Rivers—Whychus Creek and Metolius River. Featuring a spectacular river image by Bend photographer Mike Putnam, the jersey comes in a unisex club fit with short sleeves, a v-neck collar and three back pockets. Pick yours up at Cascade Cottons in Bend, or give them a call to have one sent to you (541) 306-6071.

Shop and

Shred

T-Shirt

Hand screened on 100 percent, super soft cotton and with a new design especially for women, these classy t-shirts tell everyone you are a Friend of the Forest. This is Sonadei’s second t-shirt design for the NFF. To order your t-shirt, visit: www.sonadei.com/magento Sonadei also works with local and international events and teams to help with their graphic design and apparel needs. www.sonadei.com

This year, the NFF began an innovative new partnership with the Shred Stop to support restoration in the Pacific Northwest. A highspeed, self-serve shredder available at grocery stores throughout Oregon and Washington, the Shred Stop supports restoration on our Treasured Landscapes site in the OkanoganWenatchee National Forest by donating $1 for every 10 pounds shredded. In addition to paper, the machines will shred CDs, floppy discs, paper clips, staples, full envelopes and credit cards. If you live in the Pacific Northwest and have paper or junkmail to shred, check out their easy-to-use map to find a location near you. Supporting restoration has never been so easy! www.theshredstop.com

Blooms Today Replants our forests with

Trees of Tribute

Blooms Today, the popular online flower delivery company, recently partnered with the NFF through their Trees of Tribute program. Through this program, customers have the option of purchasing Trees of Tribute (10 trees) or of adding on one or more trees to their flower purchase. With each purchase, Blooms Today provides a customized certificate to be sent in honor of your friends and loved ones. Donations received through Blooms Today will be used to provide seedlings for high priority reforestation projects on our National Forests. Visit www.bloomstoday.com to order a flower arrangement and your Trees of Tribute today.

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www.nationalforests.org

NFF Shirt Design

corporate partners corner

Explore the Okanogan-Wenatchee

with North Cascades Basecamp Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is as wild and unforgiving as some of the most remote places in the world. Blanketed by snow for nearly half the year, the steep craggy peaks of this Treasured Landscape are virtually inaccessible for all but the most experienced and hardy adventurers. But for a brief period each summer, the white world of the Okanogan-Wenatchee transforms to a spectacular palate of multi-colored wildflowers, aquamarine lakes, and verdant forests lush with new growth. Through a unique partnership with Okanogan-Wenatchee and the U.S. Forest Service, the NFF is offering an incredible opportunity to experience this spectacular place through a week of adventure and learning. Our base of exploration for this ecologically rich area is the North Cascades Basecamp. Offering garden-to-table meals and comfortable lodgings, this classic

Northwestern lodge provides a wonderful setting for relaxing after the day’s activities. All meals and activities for the week are included in the cost. Participants will enjoy guided wildflower and birding hikes; join a field trip to learn about beavers and their benefits to National Forest watersheds; explore the territory of the elusive wolverine; and learn to identify alpine flora and fauna from local experts. Each day’s adventure will be grounded in learning how you can help restore and protect these beautiful landscapes for future generations. Evening presentations on local conservation issues, restoration projects, and the area’s natural history will be provided by the North Cascades Basecamp and the Forest Service. All hikes and activities are led by trained biologists and ecologists from the Forest Service, North Cascades Basecamp and NFF.

Participants should be in good physical condition. Expect to hike 3-8 miles roundtrip per day in challenging terrain at high elevations with up to 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Space is limited, so book your spot now!

Dates

Sunday, July 28—Friday, August 2, 2013

Registration

www.nationalforests.org/wa

Questions

Contact Kathleen Dowd-Gailey at the National Forest Foundation at kdowdgailey@nationalforests.org or 206.832.8280.

Cost

$890/person—shared room; $990/person—private room.

Where in the woods? from page 27

Monongahela national forest West Virginia, Dolly Sods Wilderness

West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest covers nearly 1 million acres within the Appalachian Mountains. Following the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911, the Monongahela National Forest began taking shape in 1915. The three million visitors to the Monongahela are not wanting for things to do: camping, horseback riding, canoeing, rock climbing and more are some of the popular activities. The more than 17,000 acres of the Dolly Sods Wilderness provide an escape unlike any other. The name originates from a German homesteading family and a local term for an open meadow, a “sods.” With elevations reaching more than 4,000 feet, a wide range of weather conditions can happen within an hour. In addition to the spectacular, almost other-worldly views, wildflowers, berries and fall colors draw visitors to this unique landscape.

www.nationalforests.org

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YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

VOICES FROM THE FOREST

Source

It is good to know where

“ Water and wilderness recognize no boundaries.

There is no line drawn in the rock”

things come from

By Sandy Compton

In the upper reaches of Savage Creek— tributary to East Fork Creek, tributary to Lightning Creek, tributary to the Clark Fork River—is a tarn I call Horseshoe Lake. The downstream genealogy of this small rock catch-basin is important in the same way that all sources are. It is good to know where things come from. Horseshoe Lake, or Pond if you prefer, is in Montana and part of the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. It’s a divot left by the last ice age, a smooth-bottomed mere etched by stones in possession of ice that passed 12,000 years ago. It’s springfed, gathering the snowmelt of Vertigo Basin for a brief pause before releasing it to tumble into the Savage Creek canyon, out of Montana and into Idaho. Water and wilderness recognize no boundaries. There is no line drawn in the rock a half-mile west of Horseshoe Lake to denote the difference between Bonner

County, Idaho and Lincoln County, Montana, any more than there is a division painted along the top of Vertigo Ridge to mark the edges of Lincoln and Sanders County. Only the map shows these boundaries. The planet presents the place whole. My first climb into Vertigo Basin, and most since, was from the east. Little Spar Lake is the easiest gateway. Don’t even think of coming up Savage Creek, and the approach from the south across Vertigo Ridge is as daunting as it is beautiful. On that first trip, I discovered that the ridge between Little Spar and Vertigo Basin has a number of little meadows that are really small ponds that have grown shut. They are flat and grassy and tempting to camp in. Whitebark pine, subalpine fir, mountain ash, bear grass and huckleberry surround these swales. As I walked from one to another, I noted that a bear had

left its mark on some of the trees, but the scratches reached only about five feet off the ground. I was puzzled about that, but finally realized that the marks were being made by an animal who was simply reaching out at shoulder height and running its claws down the trees as it walked by. I began watching over my shoulder. That was a long time ago, and I’ve been back to Vertigo Basin a plenitude of times. I’ve never seen Old Ephriam, and only seldom seen his tracks, but I have friends who’ve had close encounters of the grizzly kind, so I know he, or she, is there. If I were a grizzly bear, I’d be there. Huckleberries and glacier lilies abound. There’s a population of ungulates to prey on. And it’s a long way to electricity and automobiles. I suppose, if I were a grizzly, I might wish for a few more marmots and better fishing, but all in all, the Scotchman Peaks is a pretty fine place to be a bear. Photo © Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness

Mountain goats overlook the valleys below the Scotchman Peaks.

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www.nationalforests.org

Lightning Creek, flowing out of the Scotchmans.

It’s a pretty fine place to be a human, too. I’ve been hiking around in the Scotchmans since God was a kid, and I have yet to see it all. And, I may never. It’s not an easy place to get around in, for one thing. We who love the place are well acquainted with tag alder, devil’s club and the term “cliffed out.” If you’re hankerin’ for a good butt-kickin’, go for an off-trail jaunt in the Scotchmans. The place gives up its secrets grudgingly and one at a time, but, oh, are the secrets worth knowing. There is something about having to bleed to get through a place that makes it more dear. If you don’t understand that when you walk into the Scotchmans, you will likely understand when you walk out. As one who loves this place, I have an incredibly good job—program coordinator for Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness (FSPW). Part of my job is to promote and advocate for the protection of the Scotchman Peaks as Congressionallydesignated Wilderness, wilderness with a capital “W.” The other part of my job is to act as a stewardship leader and coordinator for the Scotchman Peaks. The two parts are

inseparable, because we have found that stewardship is the purest form of advocacy. If you want people to care about a place, get them involved in caring for the place. FSPW Executive Director, Phil Hough, and I made a considered decision three years ago to move toward stewardship from pure advocacy. One of the first things we did was begin a conversation with the Forest Service ranger districts that manage the Scotchmans. With the help of recreation tech Joel Sather of the Cabinet Ranger District, we met with trail folks from all three districts. We were amazed, and pleased, when the district rangers showed up too. The partnerships grown out of that first meeting are ongoing and effective. This summer, we will participate in a minimum of ten days of trail work, including projects on each district. We will facilitate a youth camp, introducing kids from all three counties to each other as well as the Scotchmans. We will participate in a vegetation study in Lightning Creek, that stream that accepts the water from Horseshoe Lake. Lightning Creek is www.nationalforests.org

also one of the Treasured Landscapes of the National Forest Foundation, which has been incredibly helpful to us in our endeavors. Our conversations and partnerships go beyond agencies to include agreements with mining and timber interests who have expressed their support of designation for the Scotchmans. Conversation and collaboration have allowed FSPW and our partners to bridge many abstract boundaries, from state and county lines to traditional lines of conflict between industry and conservation interests. It is good to know where things come from. When Scotchman Peaks are designated Wilderness, with a capital “W,” it will come from many tributary sources.

About the author

In addition to being program coordinator for Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, Sandy Compton is an essayist, journalist, novelist and editor and owner of Blue Creek Press in Heron, Montana. Blue Creek Press is on the web at

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bluecreekpress.com.

YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS

MEET THE STAFF

East meets West

in new Executive VP Roles

Two recent staffing changes at the National Forest Foundation signal an intensified focus on the strong completion of its Treasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences campaign while positioning the organization for the future.

Forest Service nationwide, and managing our on-the-ground restoration activities. She has earned her new position through dedication and hard work,” said Bill Possiel, NFF President.

Mary Mitsos

On April 1, the NFF expanded its staff capacity with the appointment of Ray A. Foote as Executive Vice President. Foote has opened a Washington, DC office from which he will oversee the work of the Communications and Development team. Foote’s appointment will provide the NFF with a stronger DC and East Coast presence, including continuing to strengthen the NFF’s relationship with the Forest Service. Prior to joining the NFF, he proposed and led a five-year capital campaign for the National Parks Conser vation Association (NPCA) seeking to raise $125 million. That effort closed on December 31, 2012 having raised $134 million in private funds.

Veteran staff member Mary Mitsos has been promoted to Executive Vice President. Mitsos oversees all conservation programs (including five field offices) and provides direction for the NFF’s widely regarded Conservation Connect program. “The focus and impact we have achieved in recent years through the Treasured Landscapes campaign and Conservation Connect is paying big dividends not only for forest health, but also for the working relationships between communities and the Forest Service in dozens of places around the country,” said Mitsos. “In the twelve years that I have worked with Mary Mitsos, she has always demonstrated leadership in advancing our collaborative approach to conservation, managing our relationship with the

Ray A. Foote

Possiel noted, “Ray adds an exciting new dimension to our work, having completed a national campaign for NPCA. He has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that the many values of public lands endure for generations to come.” John Hendricks, chairman of the National Forest Foundation and founder of Discovery Communications, said, “Ray is an experienced professional who will help leverage every public and private investment in the NFF. I am very impressed with Ray’s professionalism and track record of success. He joins a staff that our board believes is one of the best nonprofit teams in the nation.” “It is a privilege to join with committed NFF colleagues and partners around the country to protect and promote a remarkable National Forest System,” commented Foote. “The caliber of the NFF’s volunteer leadership and our on-theground results speak to the value and impact of the NFF. I know we can continue to increase Americans’ understanding of these vital places and their commitment to protect them.” Mary Mitsos and Ray A. Foote, the National Forest Foundation’s new Executive Vice Presidents.

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www.nationalforests.org

FOREST PERSPECTIVES

1930

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah

Photos ÂŠ E.S. Shipp / Forest History Society; Brian Smith

Mt. Timpanogos Ranger Vivian West leads a packhorse onto the first saddle of the Mt. Timpanogos Trail.

The mountain is the second highest in Utahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wasatch Range topping out at 11,752 feet. The name of the mountain is derived from the name of a native tribe that lived at the foot of the mountains for over 500 years.

To day the mounta in is par t of a federally-designated Wilderness Area but is one of the most popular mountain hikes in the state. A 14 mile trail allows for hikers to reach to the summit without the aid of technical gear. The epic summit views, the alpine landscapes, a glacier-like snowfield and waterfalls are all attractions for this popular day-hike. A view of the summit of Mt Timpanogos from the Timpooneke Trail. The photo of Ranger West was taken at the saddle of the mountain on the extreme right of this photo. At the far left is a partial view of the permanent snowfield that many summit hikers use to glissade from the summit.

Help Protect America’s Backyard

The 193-million-acre National Forest System provides an expanded backyard for all Americans. With your support, the National Forest Foundation helps ensure these lands will always give us joy, adventure and solitude. For just $35, you (or your gift recipient) will receive: • A one-year membership with the National Forest Foundation. • A subscription to the official magazine of the NFF—Your National Forests. • 10 trees will be planted to restore one of America’s National Forests. (If you wish to give a gift membership, your gift recipient will receive the above benefits with a card notifying them that this special gift came from you.)

Supporting the NFF is easy: Mail: Return the form below to: NFF, Bldg. 27, Suite 3, Fort Missoula Rd., Missoula, MT 59804 Online: www.nationalforests.org Scan: The QR Code to donate online Contact: Deborah Snyder, dsnyder@nationalforests.org or 406.830.3355

Your gift is tax deductible

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