Around the Office, Winter 2010

With snow on the ground, and hopefully more on the way, it’s been an early and glorious winter so far in Missoula. It’s also been surprisingly busy, as we all try to wrap up projects before the new year. But with 2011 fast approaching… the staff and board at Wildlands CPR want to wish you happy holidays!

Thank You

It’s the time of year when we have to say thank you and goodbye to board members who have bumped up against their term limits, and as always, it’s a challenge. This year Cara Nelson and Jim Furnish are leaving the board at the end of December. Keep an eye on this space to learn who will replace them beginning in 2011…

Cara Nelson has the longest history with Wildlands CPR of any board or staff member! She participated in the original 1994 meeting in Healdsburg, CA that resulted in the founding of Wildlands CPR. That meeting, called the “Road Fighting Strategy Session” brought activists, conservation biologists and conservation lawyers together to discuss the ecological impacts of wildland roads and to develop strategies to fight them. Cara was working on a dual masters in Forestry and Conservation Biology/Sustainable Development at University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time. She earned her PhD in Forest Ecosystem Analysis in 2004 from the University of Washington, worked on several postdoctoral projects, and was hired in 2007 as the first professor in the University of Montana’s new wildland restoration degree program (in the UM College of Forestry and Conservation). She joined our initial steering committee/board in 1995  and served until December 2003 when she was term-limited off the first time. We gave her a whole year off before asking her to rejoin in 2005. Alas, she is termlimited again and will be stepping down from her formal role on the board.

But she has assured us she will continue to act as a key science advisor and we are looking forward to continuing our work with her. She’s been an extraordinary asset to Wildlands CPR since we were founded - there are so many projects that wouldn’t have been the same without her input. Thank You Cara!

Jim Furnish joined the board in January 2005, after an impressive career with the Forest Service, culminating in his service as Deputy Chief under Chief Mike Dombeck. We first learned about Jim when he was the Supervisor of the Siuslaw National Forest and oversaw a cutting edge program to profoundly reduce the size and impact of the road system on that forest. When Jim moved to Washington, he helped oversee the development of the 2001 long-term roads policy that called for the identification of a minimum necessary road system on national forest lands. As the political winds shifted, so did the fate of his signature program, but it’s back on that table, as explained in our cover story of this issue of The Road RIPorter. Shortly after he left the agency, we began contracting with him on off-road vehicle issues, and a little while after that we asked him to join our board. He’s been an immense resource for us, a truly dedicated board member who served as president for the past several years. We will miss his insights, leadership and guidance. Thank You Jim!

Thanks, too, to all of you who have made donations as part of our Annual Gifts Campaign, or just as a year-end contribution. We can’t do this work without your support! Finally, a big thank you to the following foundations for their generous support this fall: 444S, Harder, Jubitz, New-Land and Wilburforce Foundations.