STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Betsy Mizell couldn’t get the picture out of her head.

There, looming over her, was 11,815-ft. Castle Peak—the triangular shaped icon that inspired the creation of Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area. And in the foreground: A messy fire ring full of ashes and pieces of burnt food packaging and aluminum foil that defiled the picture.

It was certainly not in keeping with the wilderness status that President Obama had assigned to the Boulder-White Clouds a few days before.

“I moved here for what’s outside—the beautiful lands and rivers, the clean air, the clean water and the ability to access wild lands. I came back from that wondering ‘How can we continue to take care of these lands?’ ” said Mizell, who had been volunteering with Idaho Trails Association to clear trails around Castle Peak.

“The Idaho Conservation League started advocating for a White Clouds wilderness when ICL started 44 years ago. Rather than say, ‘Forest Service, it’s yours,’ I decided there must be some small things we can do to help protect and preserve it.”

Mizell, the community engagement associate in ICL’s Ketchum office, approached Sawtooth National Forest Ranger Liese Dean with her concerns. And the two came up with a boots-on-the-ground program enlisting those who love wilderness as Wilderness Stewards.

The program they started last year in Sun Valley was the first such program in the state. Nineteen  individuals and groups took part, making 119 trips and picking up 200 pounds of trash as they provided an estimated $97,000 worth of services for the Forest Service.

Similar programs are starting this year in the Owyhee Wilderness in southwestern Idaho and in Idaho’s panhandle.

On Sunday 41 individuals and groups representing about 60 people took part in a day-long training workshop for the second batch of Wilderness Stewards at SNRA headquarters north of Ketchum.

They included a family with two young children from Boise and Mystic Saddle Ranch outfitters, as well as a handful of avid hikers from Idaho Falls.

Such programs are necessitated by the sheer numbers of people stepping foot in wilderness areas,  Sawtooth National Forest Ranger Christine Melvin told them. When the Wilderness Act was instituted in 1964, restricting man’s ability to impact wild places with strip mining and roads, four million people recreated in wilderness areas. By 2000 thirty million people were visiting wilderness areas.

There are only three wilderness rangers to take care of 396,000 wilderness acres in the Sawtooth,   White Clouds and Hemingway-Boulders wilderness areas. They also have responsibility for the Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness.

“We must do more than pick up litter and extinguish fires. We must learn how to maintain the integrity and character of the outdoor for all living things,” Melvin said. “Leave No Trace is not simply a program but an attitude, a way of life.”

Susan James, recreational planner for the Sawtooth National Forest, agreed: “We have dwindling resources and we don’t charge fees. That’s why programs like this are important.”

Stewards note observations as they head into the wilderness, including the number of airplanes they hear overhead and what kind of wildlife they see. They note how many downed trees have fallen across trails, alerting rangers where to send trail crews. And they note dangerous river crossings so the receptionist at SNRA headquarters can warn would-be hikers.

“As stewards you are the eyes and ears of the Forest Service,” said Wilderness Ranger Tyler Lee.

The more extroverted stewards are encouraged to interact with hikers. And all are encouraged to clean up messy fire rings and disperse stacks of logs to return areas to more natural states. Those with a scientific bent can collect water samples to determine the amount of acidification in streams. And all are welcome to help with crowds expected for this year’s solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

“It was meaningful connecting with people who had not been in an area before,” said school speech therapist Colleen Holle, who served with the inaugural group of stewards. “And it was rewarding leaving an area better than it was.”

Melvin took stewards-in-training to a fire ring rangers set up behind SNRA headquarters.

“If people come to an area that’s clean, they tend to keep it clean,” she said. “People see fire rings as trash receptacles.”

Tin foil used to cook fish does not go away, nor does packaging containing foil, she said. And it’s a myth that you can put out a fire by dumping dirt on it. The only thing that really works is dumping water on it and stirring the slurry.

And, while stewards are not asked to carry poop out of the wilderness, they are welcome to educate campers to bury poop 200 feet from water and six to eight inches deep. Any more or any less and it can’t decompose properly.

Don’t burn your toilet paper, added Dean. It was just two years ago that a mountain biker started a 73-acre fire in the Boise Foothills when he attempted to burn soiled toilet paper.

Stewards are thanked for their service with monthly picnics at Ketchum’s Forest Service Park during which they have an opportunity to learn about things like the upcoming eclipse. They’re also rewarded with a party at the end of the season. And those who amass 240 hours through day hikes or overnight backpack trips are awarded an America the Beautiful pass allowing them free admission to national parks and monuments.

Mizell says she noticed a difference last summer with stewards on the ground.

“I remember walking to Goat Lake and finding no fire rings or trash where I normally would’ve found them,” she said. “And then I realized a Wilderness Steward had been there three days before me.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Five percent of the United States is designated wilderness. It’s just 2 percent if you don’t count Alaska.