Salmon-Challis National Forest

News Release

USDA Forest Service

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Blake Swanson Receives Bob Marshall Award For Wilderness Restoration Efforts
	Blake Swanson (left) receives the Bob Marshall Award for Individual Champion of Wilderness Management from Jack Troyer, Intermountain Regional Forester.

Salmon, Idaho: October, 2002

Blake Swanson, of Ketchum, ID, arrived at the Forest Service Office in Challis, rolls of site maps tucked under his arm and a brief case full of specifications, ideas and agreements, ready for what he thought was to be another meeting for the on-going Pistol Creek project. Blake had been working as a volunteer for nearly two years on the project to re-build sixteen private cabins at Middle Fork Ranch, surrounded by Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, in such a way as to have the least possible impact on that Wilderness.

Blake was surprised to see not only local Forest Service representatives and involved property owners, but also his wife, family, and friends, and the Forest Supervisor, George Matejko, and the Intermountain Regional Forester, Jack Troyer. They were there to honor his efforts and present him with the Bob Marshall Award for Individual Champion of Wilderness Management.

During the summer of 2000 fires burned half a million acres in the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness. The Pistol Creek fire burned through the Middle Fork Ranch at the mouth of Pistol Creek and destroyed 16 of the 21 private cabins, many of them located on the bank of the river.

As the owners began to make plans to rebuild some were angry with the Forest Service. “There were some folks with the attitude that the Forest Service could have done more to protect the ranch from the fire,” said Middle Fork District Ranger Patty Bates. “Blake wanted to do what was right for the Wilderness and for the Wild and Scenic River and what he felt was best for the Ranch’s image. What he did with those ideas will have a profound effect on the Wilderness.” She also noted, “Bob Marshall also had a vision of Wilderness and this award is given to honor those who have provided outstanding service to the concept of Wilderness.”

“Blake had the vision to see how the area could be restored and the cabins rebuilt in a manner more compatible with the surrounding Wilderness and the Wild and Scenic River,” said Wilderness Coordinator Ken Wotring, who worked with Blake during the first year of the project. “Where others saw ashes he saw opportunities.”

The main idea of the Pistol Creek project was to make the rebuilt cabins less obtrusive when viewed from the Middle Fork of the Salmon - to make them better blend into the natural surroundings. The major features included getting the private property owners to rebuild their cabins further back from the edge of the bank which is 20 to 30 feet directly above the river, to build ground level patios that would not protrude over the river bank, and to use special painting techniques and materials with non-reflective surfaces on the exterior of the cabins.

According to Patty Bates and Ken Wotring, Blake played a major role in the project. He worked with folks who were sometimes “hot under the collar” and opened their minds to listen to the proposal. He worked with those who supported the project and got some successes to show those who were reluctant. He met on site with every landowner to discuss options. “Blake would set up the meetings and show up with tape measure, level and ladder, to explain how the finished cabin would be located, and what it would look like from the river,” said Wotring. Blake also did a great deal of homework on building techniques and materials to help develop concepts and standards for the cabins. “I knew he was having a tremendous effect when one reluctant land owner asked ‘What’s in it for me?’ and then answered his own question by saying ‘Nothing, but I’m going to do it because it’s the right thing to do.’”

The people who will reap the most benefit from the Pistol Creek project may not even notice it – and that is part of the design according to Wotring. “The thousands of people who float the Middle Fork each year will be the beneficiaries of this program. As the Pistol Creek area slowly recovers from the fire the view from the river will be much more natural looking than it would have been without this project.”

In presenting the award to Blake, Intermountain Regional Forester Jack Troyer said, “One of the nice things about my job is that I get to meet these special people who pop up here and there when there is a challenge – people who are talented and who get things done. I’m the lucky one who gets to say thanks when these people do something good.”

As he accepted the award Blake said, “I started my wilderness experiences at an early age, my parents got me interested. At age 15 I took my first trip down the Middle Fork with a group of guides. A trip like that sets an image that causes you to come back. Over the years I’ve brought friends to hike, pack and float all over the west. I am still amazed at this pristine 100 mile stretch of river, how beautiful it is, and how well managed it is. It was easy for me to get passionate about this project.”

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Award for Individual Champion of Wilderness Management is a national award presented by the Forest Service each year to an individual, either inside the agency or a private individual, who has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to Wilderness management.