Mary's Creek
I’m adding a special edition to my usual ramblings, and am sending it out to a passel of readers that may have an interest, or just may enjoy a moment to share, in the news. I’ll send this out Sunday. Monday is supposed to be a day which will culminate decades of work on the part of hundreds of people. I say supposed to because it all depends on the President at this point, and he’s a busy guy. The Congress, after years of working at it, has passed an omnibus public lands bill that includes Senator Mike Crapo’s Owyhee Initiative language. This bill, once signed, will, in short, protect 517,000 acres of Idaho desert as Wilderness (the first in 30 years), designate 315 miles of river canyons as Wild and Scenic, and reduce the devastating impacts of grazing on the landscape overall, while ensuring a continuation of, hopefully reduced, public lands grazing in this last corner of the empty west.
The Big Quiet
I have spent a lot of time out it “The Big Quiet”. Not as much as some, more than most. Most of you may remember the summer I spent mapping roads, jarringly bumping along an empty landscape, driving miles to take a photo of an intersection, listen to the quiet, and move on. Becoming active in protecting the Owyhees was my introduction to the Sierra Club volunteers and Roger Singer – the local staff person at that time in Boise. They had previously worked for years – education events in town, public discussion with the agencies and in the media, road inventories and outings - to protect this area. After stopping cold the Air Force’s plan to bomb the area to smithereens, the club started what came to be called The Owyhee Rendezvous – a public outreach/ camping/ mapping/ blowout in the desert. Many of you may have been to one of the early inventory/campout with generator and slideshow, or the later evolutions of a full blown 3 state event with invited speakers that included BLM resource experts, ranchers, Senator Crapo’s aides, Wilderness experts, tribal representatives and scientists. Here’s a photo of Doug Scott trying to do a little work on one of our Three Forks events. Doug Scott was there with President Johnson when he signed the Wilderness bill and has worked on preserving Wilderness in Idaho and the country ever since.
Let me stop writing, share a couple photos, and leave. I felt compelled to mark the occasion in some public manner and this venue seemed a natural. The photos below are an abbreviated collection of canyon, desert, and rendezvous images.
Roger Singer talking to ranchers and being taped for a PBS documentary.
Mike Hanley – an Owyhees rancher is talking at an evening gathering. Paul Shivley in forground.
a mid -day strategy meeting – desert style
Three radical environmentalists out at Little Jacks Creek
and a rattler.
I’d like to leave with a special thanks to all Sierra Club staff for all of the work they’ve done over the years, but especially to Roger Singer and Jessica Ruehrwein. Roger is now in Colorado and Jessica is here with us in Boise. They are amazing organizers, good friends, and loving parents. These two photos were taken on Jessica’s first day with us, and Roger’s last. (The stress was getting to Roger. It’s pretty clear we traded up) Thank you both.
Jessica
Before I go – let me leave with some photos which are not mine. These three are by Mark Lisk, a talented professional here in Boise who has donated a lot to the protection effort over the years and makes beautiful images.
