Dispatches from The Bob

Our volunteers are simply the best! Each year we’re thrilled to recognize a couple of the hardworking folks who go above and beyond for the Bob.

by Alex Friend, 2023 WCC Intern

I wanted to share some photos from our Bar Creek project when we stayed at the Danaher cabin. This trip was amazing, it had a long approach and ever changing scenery as we moved through the Scapegoat into the Bob Marshall Wilderness to ultimately find the Danaher basin.

by Nathalia Heredia, 2023 WR River Ranger Intern

Scenes from our 2023 Spotted Bear River Ranger internship!

by Oliver Vernon, 2023 WS Intern

Working as an intern with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation has given me opportunities to learn and develop in the beautiful country that northwest Montana has to offer, namely the Great Bear Wilderness which forms the northern part of the greater Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Since I’m definitely somewhat of a tool nerd, the tool use and maintenance has been one of my favorite parts of my work this summer which is why I’ve chosen to do a writeup on one of my personal favorite tools: the Pulaski.

by Quinn King, 2023 WCC Intern

Take a peek into a day in the life of our Wilderness Conservation Crew!

by Erynn Castellanos, BMWF Education & Partnership Specialist

Since 2021, we’ve been working closely with the Forest Service on a Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex Education Plan. The Mission of the Education Plan is to outline and implement consistent Wilderness education throughout the entire Bob Complex.

In 2022, we were honored to be chosen for as the subject for one of Whitefish Credit Union’s member stories. WCU supports our work annually as our Bob Marshall-level Corporate Sponsor, and they fully funded this mini-documentary to tell the story of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.

by BMWF Program Staff

So you’ve registered for a trip… Congratulations on pushing yourself to try something new this summer! Before hitting the trail here are the 10 best ways to prepare yourself before heading into the Bob with BMWF.

by Elizabeth Spradlin, 2022 WCC Intern

A peek into our Wilderness Conservation Crew's summer by WCC intern Elizabeth Spradlin.

by Jessica Reed, The Guardian

by Hazel Beltz, 2022 Girls in the Bob volunteer

I have known that I was a big city girl for as long as I can remember. I knew I would live in an apartment in the heart of the city, take public transportation, and work in an office building on the tippy top floor. After graduating high school, I wanted to run away to New York or Boston. I wanted to escape my small town. I wanted freedom, and to me, freedom meant the big city.

And then I went on Girls in the Bob.

Calling all writers, photographers, poets, and other storytellers who love the Bob! We’re looking for contributions towards our Fall Journal that will be published in October 2022.

Video provided by Fred and Nancy Flint

Part 2 of the Schafer Meadows Airstrip Project, detailing the second year’s work on the last remaining active airstrip within a designated wilderness area in the state of Montana.

A conversation with three artists from our Artist Wilderness Connection program that places artists in remote Forest Service cabins for one- to two-week stays each summer.

By Christian La Bar, 2021 Packer Apprentice

Now at 30, my goal was simple--the wilderness has given me so much and it was time for me to give back in the little way that I could. I felt it was time to pursue a passion that has always been there, packing mules in the Bob to aid the stewardship of the Bob Marshall Complex.

By Olive Prichard, 2021 WR Intern

If you ever find yourself so lucky to spend a summer in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, you’ll probably hear talk of huckleberries up and down the trails, around dinner fires, and over morning coffee. The talk will start in late June with predications based on seaons past and gallons recollected. But if you’re not from the Northwest you might be wondering what the obsession is about, what these berries even look like, and where to find them.

By Abigail Gans, 2021 WR Intern

Location: Red Mountain, Elevation 9411ft
Date: July 7th 2021

While on hitch number two my crewmate Hannah and I had the opportunity to clear/summit Red Mountain, which is the highest peak in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. We started off our day at Webb Cabin in the Scapegoat Wilderness, and more specifically the only backcountry cabin in Lincolns’ district. We had to hike down the Mainline Trail a mile before reaching the start of the Red Mountain Trail. Upon reaching the beginning of the trail I started to realize just how hard this day was going to be.

By Nathan Tan, 2021 Wilderness Ranger Intern

Wilderness Ranger Intern Nathan Tan shares the lessons he learned from working with stock animals all summer on the Rocky Mountain Ranger District.

By Sloan Miles, 2021 WCC Intern

July 6, Day 1:
Rock-skipping at night
Bear roaring? Multiple bears?!?
Sleep with bear spray tight

July 7, Day 2:
We forgot the stove
But, the bears didn’t eat us!
We gon’ be alright.

by Clare Wirzbicki, 2021 WCC Intern

As the 2021 Wilderness Conservation Corp crew got to know each other better, they each found their role within the crew – eventually realizing that each of them personified a member of the 1980s classic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. WCC Intern Clare Wirzbicki explains how each of their personalities fit their animated counterpart.

By Erynn Castellanos, BMWF Education & Partnership Specialist

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation recently partnered with Here Montana to provide an introductory backpacking and stewardship experience for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals. The trip brought eight participants into the 1.5 million acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex with the goal of making the wilderness more accessible to those who did not grow up recreating in the outdoors or haven’t traditionally seen themselves as part of the outdoor community.

by BMWF Staff

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation is excited to announce a new full-time, year-round position beginning in 2021. The objective of this position is to meet an organizational commitment to building Wilderness connections in an equitable and inclusive manner, and to develop new pathways for the Foundation to engage and educate a more diverse set of constituents.

By BMWF Staff

This January, we’ve been lucky enough to have some extra help from Sloan Miles, a student at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, AL. We asked Sloan a few questions about his connection to the outdoors and what drew him to volunteering his J-term to the foundation.

by BMWF Staff

Calling for gently-used camping gear! Put your gently-used gear to a good cause and help us build a gear library so that we can loan out quality outdoor gear for our volunteer projects to anyone who needs it.

Provided by Fred and Nancy Flint

Watch a Forest Service crew begin maintenance on the Schafer Meadows airstrip in 2020 using a team of mules and vintage tools, a process that had not been completed since 1978.

By BMWF Staff

Thanks to all who joined us for our first virtual Voices of the Wilderness - At Home event! We learned a lot and had a blast in the process, and we hope you enjoyed it too.

View all three of the recorded Fireside Chats here.

By Meg Killen, BMWF staff

Every season we have the pleasure of selecting a Volunteer of the Year, as well as a Packer of the year. As most of you know, this season was a little different as we didn’t have quite as many volunteers or pack trips as we would have liked. But when we sat down to discuss…two names stood out for us. And there was one theme with both of them. Dedication. These two young ladies were dedicated to BMWF in more ways than one, and we are thrilled to recognize them this year!

By Zane Roush, 2020 WR Intern

All summer I wondered what I was going to write about for my final project. Would I talk about backcountry weed management? No, that sounded too much like a school project. Would I do a photo journal? No, it turns out it was too difficult to take pictures while we worked. On my final hitch, Jackson Holte, the Lincoln Ranger District Wilderness Ranger, and I were sitting around camp shooting the breeze. We got onto the topic of horsemanship (as we often did) and he said something that stuck out to me. "Horsepacking makes you a better person."

By Marty Maddalena, Weeds Crew Leader

The Wilderness is undisturbed, untrammeled and beautiful just the way it is, right? Well, sort of. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex as well as every other piece of public and most private land is in a constant battle with noxious/invasive weeds.

By BMWF Staff

Our Wilderness Internships are designed for young, college-age students to gain the experience they need to continue on with their natural-resource related careers. So sadly, after three months of time with us, they move on. However, we LOVE to keep in touch and hear from them from time to time. Here we check in with a few of our past interns to hear what they’re up to now.