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"When we strive to pass wilderness legislation, what we are really engaged in is democracy at work."
- Bart Koehler
Read an important message about patriotism and the purpose of wilderness from our friends at the Wilderness Support Center in Colorado.
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Perspectives on Wilderness : Bobbie Holaday
Some wise person once said, “There’s no such thing as too much wilderness.” When I saw large tracts of primitive land fall under the developers heavy equipment, I resented the devastation of the relatively few wild places that still remain. I began to have feelings of guilt because as much as I enjoyed my hiking experiences in the wilderness, I wasn’t doing a single thing to try to save it. In 1982, I adopted the Hellsgate Wilderness Study Area, obtained maps and contacted a hiker who had been there to get directions for my first hike.
There were many hikes as well as much self-education about wilderness. I learned about terms like “cherry-stemmed roads.” “surface mineral rights,” “grandfathered grazing rights,” and “identifiable ore bodies.” Then there followed all of the public hearings and meetings with the Forest Service, who had not included this area in their proposal. I put together a slideshow and convinced them that its unique characteristics did indeed qualify as wilderness. I encountered opposition from the Salt River Project that was considering Hellsgate for a future dam site. Following my correspondence with them, they investigated and found that Hellsgate was not feasible for a dam site because of porous rock, rugged terrain, and remoteness.
Putting together my own proposal to present to the Arizona congressional delegation was a huge chore, but it was having a face-to-face encounter with the ranchers who grazed their cattle on Hellsgate lands that proved most challenging. These ranchers were totally opposed to wilderness and resented an outsider from Phoenix working to have their grazing allotments so designated. However, they agreed to meeting me and taking me on tours. My experiences with these ranchers taught me that they had been taking care of the wild lands in their allotments and they learned that I wasn’t the wild-eyed radical freak that they originally thought I was. The Hellsgate area was designated as wilderness in 1984.
I later adopted two adjacent Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas, Eagletail mountains and East Clanton Hills, prior to the Wilderness Act of 1990. The eroded granite slopes rise abruptly to weathered basaltic cliffs and jagged peaks form the backbone on this spectacular desert mountain range. The Eagletail Mountains were already included in the BLM’s wilderness proposal, so obtaining the wilderness designation for this area was less of a challenge than was Hellsgate. Unfortunately, East Clanton Hills was dropped from wilderness consideration although its wild lands qualify. The ceremonies for the Wilderness Act of 1990 took place just outside the Eagletail Mountains, and I was honored to represent the AWC at this happy event.
Being a wilderness adopter was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. Knowing that my efforts saved thousands of acres of pristine Arizona lands for future generations has provided a heritage far greater than material wealth. I encourage anyone who loves to hike in wild places to adopt an area and work to preserve it as a legacy. Remember, there’s no such thing as too much wilderness.
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