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Spring 2020 Newsletter!

Well, who doesn't want the sun
after the long winter?
-Mary Oliver
FROM THE DIRECTOR'S CHAIR

It was fortuitous that the ABWF moved into a new office at the end of 2019. The new World Headquarters of the ABWF! I am currently working regularly in seclusion in our new office directly upstairs from our beloved Wilderness compatriot—Sylvan Peak Enterprises, Red Lodge’s local outdoor store. I am very, very thankful I have someplace to go to work to in these unprecedented times, as I think I would go crazy sequestered at home 24/7.

Like everyone, I am trying to make sense of this outbreak of COVID19. I’ve felt at times a desire to just shrivel up, disappear for a while in isolation till it all goes away.

I read recently a mailing from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) that fights one of the fiercest battles on behalf of wilderness. Their words and advice are quite good.

“While we cannot share the same physical space with people outside of our homes—and for many, at work—now is a time when remaining socially close to friends and loved ones and strengthening social ties is ever more important. This is a great time to make better use of your phone, video conferencing platforms, pens and paper, and other technologies.”  I personally will use this time to reach out and say thanks to all of you who have helped the ABWF get to where we are today!  Read on.

While it might seem like a good time to pack your car and escape into our wild public lands to take refuge in nature while maintaining safe physical distance from other people, this is not a good idea. Right now, it’s probably best to advise our members, supporters, and all public land lovers to stay at home and find solace in your own backyard or neighborhood park or on city paths. Get a healthy dose of sunshine (UV rays) if you can, but stay home for now. The wilderness isn’t going anywhere. Consider that if everyone clamors for a wilderness getaway and travels from all over to find that refuge, rural community resources become taxed beyond their limits. Contain locally, and we’ll see in a couple months what is our reality again.  The Wilderness will still be there for you.
 

SUWA then shared a quote from the great writer Wallace Stegner from his famed 1960 Wilderness Letter:

The reminder and the reassurance that [wilderness] is still there is good for our spiritual health even if we never once in 10 years set foot in it. It is good for us when we are young, because of the incomparable sanity it can bring briefly, as vacation and rest, into our insane lives. It is important to us when we are old simply because it is there.

I continue to stay positive that by summer people's lives will starting to normalize again.  We've hired the summer staff and plan for the trail projects and volunteer opportunities you are used to seeing from the ABWF, but await what opportunities the situation calls for. 

Wilderness has always been for me a reminder of the goodness and beauty of how things were before non-indigenous people started leaving their mark. Wilderness has continuity and longevity in its DNA, and serves as a constant reminder of what’s natural, healthy and normal in this world--so long as we don’t injure and impede it from being so.  Wilderness is going to be even more important than ever as we emerge from this frightening pandemic.

Koby Kasten is now helping me in the office—and we have hired 3 new interns to work alongside Forest Service trail crews this summer.  Ben Daley will serve as our new Program Director and Volunteer Trail Crewleader.  The Projects are scheduled and making their way to your inboxes and mailboxes.  So while the summer may prove to look far different, it's important we plan for as much normalcy as possible.  I'd like to believe that when it is safe to do so, people will want more than ever to venture out to their wilderness, find routines again, and look to heal amidst the power of nature.  

The promise of Wilderness is for me a strong measure of hope. Stay safe everyone.

Thank you, Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen!

Each year the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation and the Custer Gallatin National Forest team up on a handful of trail maintenance projects. Volunteers arrive from varied locations to assist on these important trail building and maintenance projects. But there's often a third partner, equally important.  The monumental task of getting the supplies to the area where everyone will be working belongs to our long-time partners, the Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen (BBCH) and makes our projects possible. If not for these great horse-savvy volunteers, the ABWF's projects simply would not happen.  To ask everyday volunteers to pack in heavy food, tools, and camping gear would be so exhaustive that most people would be so spent before the work ever got started. The BBCH allow our volunteers to show up at the trail head and hike into the location of the project carrying just a reasonable sized daypack, rather than a load-monster backpack. The ABWF’s trail projects would not be anywhere near as successful without the assistance of the Backcountry Horsemen. 

This is a special shout out to the outstanding members of the Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen.  The ABWF failed to acknowledge them properly in our Fall Newsletter.  

In 2019, the BBCH assisted on 5 major projects that helped the ABWF and the Custer Gallatin National Forest: 

From the West Fork of Mill Creek trail, the BBCH packed out numerous leftover planks from a previous puncheon project of the CGNF.  John Jenkins, and Randy, Nancy, and Josie Thomsen from BBCH all volunteered to pack out this sizeable load.  Their contribution was a donation of 24 hours of their total time, plus 4 total stock days and 600 miles of vehicle travel. 

In July the ABWF worked a project to September Morn Lake above the Lake Fork of Rock Creek.  John Simmons, John Jenkins, Mary Sybrant, and Wendy Galvin packed all of our stuff in, and then out again at the end of the 5-day project. 

The ABWF did a return trip in 2019 up to the Red Lodge Creek Plateau to do some trail work on the trail down to Crow Lake.  Randy Thomsen and Mary Sybrant packed us both in and out, and John Jenkins and Dale Olson, helped on the front and back ends of the project respectively.

On the West Boulder River, Dave Heinle, and John and Sean Chepulis packed our High School kids in and out so they could work on clearing this pretty trail southwest of Big Timber in early August.

At the end of August, Backcountry Horsemen helped us with a big project off the Main Boulder River to Meatrack Meadows and the Fourmile Trail. Packers on this trip included Dave Heinle, John and Bonnie Chepulis, John and Louise Jenkins and Brad Molnar on the pack in, and Randy Thomsen helped on these folks on pack out.

John Jenkins from the BBCH estimates in total these projects add up to 47 stock days, 3661 miles of stock handling, and 260 hours of packing time!  He wrote about the summer of projects working with the ABWF in the Decker Dispatch, the Newsletter of the Montana Backcountry Horsemen. The link to this article is here: 

https://abwilderness.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Backcountry-Horsemen-Newsletter-2020.pdf

The ABWF greatly appreciates all the BBCH does to ensure trail project supplies arrive safely to project sites, lessen the amount of personal equipment volunteers must pack in and out, and meticulously pack out everything at the completion of each project. They allow the Forest Service personnel, the trail crew leaders, and the volunteers to focus on the project at hand rather than the difficult logistics of getting to and from the projects.  

We are forever grateful to the Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen and look forward to working with them during the 2020 trail project season! 

The Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen are based in Absarokee/Fishtail, MT.  They donate their time, their stock, their trailers and fuel, and all packing equipment for the noble cause of trail stewardship.  Find more about them here: 
https://bchmt.org/wp/beartooth/

John Jenkins leads a pack horse on the Fourmile Trail.  Randy Thomsen helps Heather & ABWF load up a horse.
2020 Trail Projects

Each year the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation and the National Forest Service team up on several trail projects. Here is a list of the project names and dates as we understand them at this time.
 

South Fork of Deep Creek #388—National Trails Day
Date(s): Saturday, June 6th Trail


Line Creek Trail #7A—Community Trails Day
Date(s): Sat/Sun, June 13-14 


Pine Creek Trail #627 to Palmer Mountain
Date(s): Thu-Mon, July 25 – 28 (4 days) 


W. Fork Stillwater Trail #90/Breakneck Meadows
Date(s): Thu-Mon, July 23 - 27


W. Fork Boulder River Trail #41. High School only!
Dates: Fri-Mon, July 31–Aug 3 (4 day) 


Fourmile/Meatrack Trails #22-23 w/American Hiking Society
Dates: Wed, Aug 19-26 (8-days) 

2020 Trail Projects Information
THANK YOU TO OUR 2019 DONORS!

Adam Majewski, Laramie, WY

Amanda Obery & John Sugden, Billings

Andrew & Julianne Anderson, Emigrant

Aspen Thompson, Brooklyn, WI 

ASI Industrial, Billings

Aubrey Bertram, Billings

Barb Beck, Red Lodge 

Barbara Gollan, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ

Barbara Sample,  Billings

Bernie Rose,  Billings

Beartooth Mountain Guides, Red Lodge

Beartooth Recreational Trails Association, Red Lodge

Betsy Dane & Dusty Smith, Red Lodge

Betsy Scanlin & Jeff Anderson, Red Lodge

Beverly Stephens & Joshua Olsen, Yellowstone National Park, MT

Billings Association of Realtors, Billings

Bill & Susan Foisy,  Red Lodge

Bill Hopkins, Bozeman

Bob Landis,  Gardiner 

Bob Quam,  Billings

Bozeman Brewing Company, Bozeman

Brian & Molly Harrington, Billings

Brent Voorhees & Nancy Huber, Red Lodge

Bruce Marty - Roberts

Carol & Curt Fleck, Red Lodge

Carol Peterson, Centennial, CO

Caroline Schneider, Livingston

Carolyn Jones, Billings

Carolyn Ostby & Keith Strong, Bozeman

Cathie Osmun & Jack Exley, Red Lodge

Christian Ramstack, Manawa, WI

Christopher Stoneback 

Chris & Marcia Sullivan, Red Lodge

Corinne Sheridan, Etters, PA

Crazy Creek Products, Red Lodge

Cycle Greater Yellowstone, MT

Dan Gathje, Red Lodge

Dan Seifert & Erinn Ackley, Red Lodge

Daniel Winslow, Wichita Falls, TX

Dave Sapp, Billings

David Lehnherr, Red Lodge

Deborah Erdman, Livingston

Deb & Steve Muth, Red Lodge

Justin Moore & Amanda LaPlante, Red Lodge

Karla Brandt

Katherine Hesch & Bill Rosen, Missoula

Kathleen Shanahan - Aughe, Dayton, OH

Kathleen Ralph, Columbus

Kate Wright & Peter Aengst, Bozeman

Katy Duffy, Gardiner

Keith & Susie Brighton, Red Lodge

Kent & Diane Young, Red Lodge

Kim Redding, Billings

Lila Randolph & Reiger Poore, Red Lodge 

Linda & J.P. Healow, Billings

Lisa & Erec Isaacson, Houston, TX

Loren Miles, Rapid City, SD 

Lucille Olds, Red Lodge

Lynn Sorensen, Red Lodge

Marge Strum, Red Lodge

Mark Cunnane, Bozeman

Mark Erickson 

Markus Isaacson  

Martha Thompson 

Mary Maj, Bozeman

Mary Ellen Mangus, Red Lodge

Mary Swanson & Peter Murray

Maryvette Labrie, Red Lodge

Matt Brophy, Red Lodge

Matt Hallingstad, Longmont, CO

Melissa Frady, Livingston

Merv & Lynette Coleman, Red Lodge

Mike Wilkinson - Wise River

MSU-Billings Foundation, Billings 

Network for Good, Washington, DC

Paloma Serna, Billings

Patrick Hinch

Paul & Rena Beck, Red Lodge

Paul Chalfant, Pray

Paul & Asano Otsu, Red Lodge

 

Dennis Glick, Livingston

Douglas Reynolds, Cedar City, UT

Dustin & Tracy Timmons, Red Lodge

Elizabeth Dane, Red Lodge

Elizabeth Quist

Emily Francis, Palo Alto, CA 

Gerald Kessler

Gordon McConnell, Billings

Hans Metzler - Freidorf, TG

Harrison & Susan Fagg, Billings

Harry & Kaye Kolkmann, Livingston

Hilary Eisen & Patrick Cross, Bozeman

Henry & Barbara Dykema, Red Lodge

Henry Rebinski, Mechanicsburg, PA

Howard Sherman, Upper Darby, PA

Jack & Julie Buck, Maple Grove, MN

James Childre, Bozeman

James Howe, Red Lodge

James Merring & Linda Kruchten-Merring, Rochester, NY

Jan Stockey, Red Lodge, MT

Jean & Scott Seaton, Gardiner

Jeannie & Lee Watson, Livingston

Jeff DiBenedetto, Red Lodge

Jeff Reed, Emigrant

Jeff & Cristi Hunnes, Billings

Jeff & Renee Gildehaus, Red Lodge

Jenny Harbine, Livingston

Jerry & Jeff Ladewig, Emigrant

Jim & Cindy Dickert, Mesa, AZ

Jim & Deb Smedsrud, Red Lodge

Jim & Lilian Hartung, Billings

Jimmy Horan, Livingston 

Joel & Margie Adams, Red Lodge

John Clayton, Red Lodge

John Elsberry, Red Lodge

John Greene, Livingston

John & Kathleen Nichols, Gardiner

John & Lucy Feckanin, Livingston

John Georing & Petrea Hofer, Bozeman

John & Debra Miller, Billings

John & Dallas Pender Family, Billings

Joseph Elliott, Madison, WI

Judith Reese & Edward Bartels, Missoula

Julian Startzman, Berea, KY

Paul & Rena Beck, Red Lodge

Paul Chalfant, Pray

Paul & Asano Otsu, Red Lodge

Paul & Becky Sandall, Bellingham, WA

Pete Shelley & Sheri Henderson, Red Lodge

Philip & Regina Toon, Boaz, KY

Rachel Cudmore, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Raven Chavez, Kanab, UT

Ray Masters, Red Lodge

Red Lodge Area Chamber of Commerce

Richard Backstrom, Emigrant

Richard & Sue Wilcox, Sturgeon Bay, WI

Richard & Gretchen Nolan, Red Lodge

Robert Detrick , Washington, DC

Rob & Tammy Ringer, Roberts

Roger & Barbara Boss, Billings

Ron Archuleta , Fort Collins, CO

Ronn Bayly & Susan Regele, Livingston

Russ Walters, Billings

Samuel Anderson, Emigrant

Sarah Bierschwale, Gardiner 

Saralee Melnick, Sherman Oaks, CA

Shaun Durkee, Bozeman

Shelby Jones, Gardiner

Silver Gate Lodging, Silver Gate

Skip & Deb Bratton, Red Lodge

Steve Caldwell, Livingston

Susan Weinreis

Tim Lehman, Billings

Theodore Conover 

Tom & Clare Lemke, Livingston

Traute Parrie & Don Carroll, Red Lodge

Tyrene Riedel 

Wanda Kennicott, Red Lodge

Wayne Tomicich

Zachary Rinehart, Livingston

Zephyr Adventures, Red Lodge

NEED SOMETHING TO DO WHILE YOU ARE STAYING INSIDE?
 
Like to read while staying indoors? Voices of Yellowstone's Capstone: A Narrative Atlas of the Absaroka‑Beartooth is an excellent option. It will remind you of the beauty that awaits when we are able to get out and explore the vast wilderness. 
 


My parents have both read the book cover to cover and have both called it "Outstanding!", and they're tough critics!

NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES

Our profound thanks go out to Kathy Melville of Red Lodge Montana. At a time when the ABWF was starting to sell the book, Voices from Yellowstone’s Capstone: A Narrative Atlas of the A-B Wilderness, we knew we were going to need to hire a person to fulfill all the orders and ship out the (HEAVY) books in the mail. Up stepped Kathy Melville to save the day!

If you received an “Atlas” in the mail, it was probably because of Kathy. She took the orders, boxed them up in mailers, printed out the bar-code mailing labels, and huffed them to the post office! Furthermore, she handled the inventory, opening up the boxes and one by one adding a bookmark and an ABWF donation card to every Atlas before distributing. Each box of books weighs 36 lbs. so Kathy did a lot of heavy lifting--literally and figuratively.

Kathy Melville also donated 75 hours of her time to the ABWF, forgoing any payment for her labor, which humbles us greatly! Kathy has been a generous contributor to the ABWF before. In 2014 and 2015, she and her husband Richard volunteered on a number of our multi-day trail projects in the backcountry—helping the ABWF complete trail-work and serving as the camp cook! There are many ways to give to the ABWF, as Kathy has shown us! Thank you, Kathy Melville!

Kathy Melville at work atop the Red Lodge Creek Plateau with the ABWF in 2015!
DONATE NOW
Support the ABWF during Yellowstone Valley Gives or
Give Big Gallatin Valley
Day of Giving!
You may donate online via GiveGab at any time, but the official days of giving are
April 30th and May 1st.
Each initiative is a 24-hour online celebration of giving created to connect generous community members with the causes they care about most. Due to helping prevent the of COVID-19, there will be no live events this year so online donations are encouraged.
Livingston kids and their teachers join the ABWF on the Custer Gallatin NF to do a little experiment on whether Fat, Fur, or Feathers, are the best insulators.

Peace!    

David & Koby    
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Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation
PO Box 392
122 S. Hauser
Red Lodge, MT 59068
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