Celebrating 10 years of the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness with an eye to the future
This year we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the passage of the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness Act. With the determined leadership of Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, the support of many partners, and the work of untold thousands of Idahoans… together we protected over 275,000 acres in the wild heart of Idaho. These lands will be forever wild. Protected from development, a refuge for wildlife and salmon, and a place for people to visit. To enjoy, to challenge themselves, and to bask in solitude. Vast, wild country.With so much happening right now, so many fresh threats to our public lands, wildlife, and clean water, it would be easy to not take the time to celebrate. To not pause to honor the generations of people that fought to protect these landscapes and those that were there for the final push to get the Boulder-White Clouds over the finish line. But by celebrating we remind ourselves what we can accomplish together.I’ve heard some say that we got lucky and ‘dodged a bullet’ when the language mandating the sale of our public lands was stripped from the Budget Reconciliation Bill. That’s not what happened.We saw that bullet coming and we jumped up and caught it in our teeth. We spit it on the ground and said, ‘not today, not ever.’ We didn’t get lucky. We got organized, and together we got to work. Together we won.As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness, let's do it with an eye to the future. We aren't done yet. Together, we have a job to do. Wild Idaho is worth fighting for.