"One of the finest wildland organizers in the past 50 years is my dear friend Bart Koehler, who is now struggling with Parkinson's disease. Millions of acres throughout the West enjoy protection and broad local support because of Bart's decades of on-the-ground advocacy."
"Many ranchers and outfitters believed that wilderness designations meant an end to grazing and hunting. Bart explained that, in fact, the Wilderness Act guaranteed that these activities could continue. The real threat to their livelihoods and ways of life, he warned, were the mines, oil and gas fields and clear-cut logging operations."
"Bart started his career as the Wyoming representative of The Wilderness Society. In the 1970s, the Wyoming Legislature passed resolutions opposing any new wilderness designations, and it remains the only state where federal law prohibits the president from establishing new national monuments."
Community-based wilderness organizers represent an endangered occupation in the rural West, deserving recognition alongside family farmers and ranchers. Bart Koehler stands as one of the finest wildland organizers of the past 50 years, having protected millions of acres throughout the West through on-the-ground advocacy. Working as Wyoming representative for The Wilderness Society and later the Sierra Club, Koehler organized local communities to demand wilderness protection despite Wyoming's legislative opposition to new designations. He effectively communicated with ranchers and outfitters, explaining that the Wilderness Act actually preserved grazing and hunting rights while protecting against mining, oil and gas extraction, and logging operations that threatened their livelihoods.
#wilderness-advocacy #rural-west-conservation #grassroots-organizing #environmental-protection #community-engagement
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