‘The lessons that wilderness can teach us’

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Phil Hough can pinpoint exactly when he fell in love with the wilderness.

He remembers paddling down the Allagash River in a canoe in the heart of the north woods of Maine with his father in 1970. It was around that moment that his lifelong fascination with the great outdoors was born. It was also the start of a career spent advocating for the preservation of wild spaces.

“The Allagash River is one of the original rivers put into the Wild Scenic River Act passed in 1968,” Hough told the Reader. “By 1970, when we did our canoe trip, it had been in the system for two years. … It was on that trip that I really gained a fascination for being outside, for going days without seeing people, sleeping under the stars, going through rapids, learning skills to survive in conditions we aren’t normally faced with. The lessons that wilderness can teach us.”

Phil Hough and Deb Hunsicker atop Scotchman Peak in early 2005. Courtesy photo.

When returning to school after summer vacation, Hough said he told way better stories of his adventures than his friends visiting Cape Cod or watching a Red Sox game. He was hooked.

Fast forward to early 2005 in North Idaho, Hough and a key group of forest advocates were in the process of founding a wilderness advocacy organization that aimed to achieve a wilderness designation for the 88,000-acre roadless area along the Idaho-Montana border known collectively as Scotchman Peaks.

Hough and others were eager to see that land set aside to guarantee that future generations retained the ability to hike into the mountains and experience life without the influence of humanity’s hand. Not wanting to align too closely with Idaho or Montana interests, the group hoped to advocate for wilderness across the spectrum of the forest area that occupies both states. They decided on a name: the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness.

This week marks the official 20th anniversary of the nonprofit’s founding. As the executive director, Hough can attest to the amount of work the organization has accomplished in 20 years — as well as the tasks they still have ahead of them.

In the early days of FSPW, members and volunteers were local advocates for healthy forests that stayed wild. They were spread out from North Idaho to western Montana, but no matter the zip code, their goals were the same: protection and thoughtful stewardship.

There are a lot of factors that go into forest planning and usage designation — more than can be adequately summarized — suffice it to say, it’s a long, arduous process trying to get Congress to do anything, let alone designate land for particular uses.

FSPW was slowly chipping away at the edifice, attempting to place the right bill before the right senators’ eyes, but progress was slow until 2018, when Idaho Sen. Jim Risch said he’d support the outcome of an advisory vote from Bonner County on whether residents wanted Scotchman Peaks to achieve wilderness status or not.

The issue made the 2018 primary ballot, when voters across Bonner County voted 5,672 to 4,831 against the proposal to establish 13,960 acres (about a third of the entire area) as wilderness in the Idaho Panhandle. 

While the outcome was a blow for Hough and FSPW supporters, he attempted to look at the bright side of the outcome.

“We learned more about how to make friends with unusual allies, how to defuse tensions and how to have honest conversations with different stakeholders,” he said. “After meeting with timber guys, mining guys and the rest, we found that we shared common interests. We all had a love for the land. … Ultimately, we discovered we’re all after the same thing. It was refreshing that so many of these people appreciate having these wild lands in their backyards.”

While Hough accepted the outcome of the advisory vote, he also acknowledged that it might not have been the most accurate gauge of where the public falls on the issue.

“Sen. Risch’s office told us they’d received texts, letters and calls of support more than those opposing by about a six to one factor,” Hough said. “What we learned after that was, going forward, we need to have a congressman and/or senator who champions the bill, who actually gets behind it.” 

Looking ahead, Hough is excited about the Idaho Panhandle Public Lands Initiative, a newly formed collaborative group that aims to bring together disparate interests to advocate for federal legislation that enhances forest management and conservation.

“It’s a breakthrough opportunity,” he said of the initiative’s goal.

Reflecting on 20 years, however, Hough can’t help but acknowledge there is still a lot left to do.

“I’m looking down the road and what we’re seeing right now is a generational shift,” he said. “The individuals I’ve worked with, the mentors and the people in the wilderness movement who came of age in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, they’ve largely moved on. So one thing we’re paying close attention to in the next few years is setting up the organization for success and succession.”

Hough said he attended a national conference last year and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the 50 people in the room were under 40 years old.

“We’re building for the future,” he said. “We’re hiring younger staff members, building endowment funds and passing the torch. Advocacy work takes a long time. Stewardship lasts forever.”

To learn more about Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, visit scotchmanpeaks.org.