Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 1

USDA Forest Service

Fiscal Year 2008 in Review
2 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

I

f a picture is worth a thousand words, the cover on this report says it all: Clean, 

free-flowing water winding through a healthy, resilient forest offers an invitation to 

enchantment and adventure for children and adults alike.

Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell has made responding to climate change, getting 

more “kids into the woods” to enjoy nature, and providing clean water/healthy watersheds the three signature areas of her tenure. Wilderness and wild and scenic rivers play 

critical roles in each of these areas. Our year-long celebration of the 40th anniversary of 

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act highlighted the agency’s 104 wild and scenic rivers as 

refugia for riparian species during the coming climate disruptions, as magnets drawing 

children to engage with the natural world, and as models for enlightened, watershedfocused management. Similarly, our 35 million acres of wilderness are important scientific baselines in 

times of change, a place for life-changing encounters for our youth, major untouched headwaters areas 

for stream recharge throughout the country, and a reliable refuge for all of us when life feels overwhelming.

Given the significant role that wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers currently play, it is imperative 

that we continue to develop our capacity for their stewardship to ensure that these unique areas are here 

to help meet the environmental challenges of the future. To accomplish those goals, we must use our 

limited resources to not only put staff on the ground as managers and guardians of these resources, but 

also to expand our work with existing partners and to capitalize on opportunities with new partners. 

In addition, we must collaborate ever more meaningfully with our sister agencies—Bureau of Land 

Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service—through the Interagency Wild 

and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council, the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, and 

other entities.

The year 2008 was one of significant change for the Forest Service as it went through “Transformation” 

to provide more effective 21st century leadership. From this process, the Wilderness and Wild and

Scenic Rivers Program emerged whole, strengthened, and better focused to play an important role

in helping the agency redeem its conservation responsibilities across the National Forest System and 

beyond.

This report captures the scope of our programs and our efforts in 2008 to develop and promote a skilled 

workforce, enhance and expand capacity, measure performance and increase accountability, and improve 

integration and coordination. It also presents the challenges that remain for us in our mission to keep 

our wilderness wild and rivers free-flowing forever.

Chris Brown

Director, Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers

Forest Service, Washington Office

(202) 205-0925 

Welcome From the Director

Cover Photo: Clackamas Wild and Scenic River 

© George Wuerthner
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 3

Current Units of the National Wilderness and 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems

Congressional Bills on Which Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Staff

Provided Technical Expertise During Fiscal Year 2008

Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions & Wild Pratt River Act (WA)

Browns Canyon Wilderness Act (CO)

California Desert & Mountain Heritage Act (CA)

Chattahoochee National Forest Act (GA)

Copper Salmon Wilderness Act (OR)

Eastern Sierra & Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act (CA)

Fossil Creek Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (AZ)

Idaho Wilderness Boundary Modification Act (ID)

Lewis & Clark Mt. Hood Wilderness Act (WA)

Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (ID, MT, WY)

Rocky Mountain National Park & Indian Peaks Wilderness Expansion Act (CO)

Tumacacori Highland Wilderness Act (AZ)

Virginia Ridge & Valley Act (VA)

Washington County Growth & Conservation Act (UT)

West Virginia—Wild Monongahela Act (WV)

Wild Sky Wilderness Act (WA)

The Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 

manages 33 percent of the 

National Wilderness Preservation System 

and nearly 63 percent of the rivers in the 

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System 

(NWSRS). The U.S. Department of the 

Interior’s Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. 

Fish & Wildlife Service manage the 

balance of these important congressional 

designations. 

Wilderness

At the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008, the 

Forest Service managed 419 wildernesses 

totaling 35.48 million acres. This acreage 

represents 18.4 percent of all National 

Forest System (NFS) lands.

On May 8, President George W. Bush 

signed into law the Consolidated Natural 

Resources Act of 2008. The act designated 106,577 acres in the Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest as the Wild 

Sky Wilderness. Located in Washington’s 

east Snohomish County in the front 

range of the Cascade Mountains, Wild 

Sky, named for the Skykomish River, 

is primarily low-elevation forest that 

provides clean water and other ecosystem 

services; recreational opportunities for 

visitors; and wildlife habitat for bears, 

bald eagles, and other wildlife.

Wild and Scenic Rivers

At the end of FY 2008, the Forest Service 

was responsible for managing 101 wild 

and scenic rivers designated by Congress 

and three State-administered, federally 

designated rivers that flow on NFS lands. 

These rivers total 4,389 miles, almost 

evenly split between “wild” (1,453 miles), 

“scenic” (1,180 miles), and “recreational” 

(1,756 miles) classifications. This total 

comprises 62.6 percent of the number of 

rivers in the NWSRS and 38.4 percent of 

the river miles.

Legislative Activity

As additional wildernesses and wild and 

scenic rivers are proposed, the Wilderness 

and Wild and Scenic Rivers (WWSR) 

staff, working closely with Forest Service 

Legislative Affairs staff and local forest 

managers, provide expertise to review and 

comment on bills being developed and 

considered by Congress. WWSR staff 

also assist with developing departmental 

testimony for legislative proposals.

Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, National

Forest System, testifies before the

House Natural Resources Subcommittee 

on National Parks, Forests, and Public 

Lands on the Lewis & Clark Mt. Hood 

Wilderness Act.

Wild Sky Wilderness

© Tim Greyhavens
4 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

Develop and Promote a Skilled Workforce

 Inholding Access

 Miscellaneous Special Provisions.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Training

 To increase agency leaders’ awareness 

and understanding of the NWSRS, the 

Deputy Chief of the National Forest 

System asked each Regional Forester 

to discuss the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Program during a portion of a regional 

leadership team meeting. Numerous 

products were created to support this 

effort and other celebratory events, 

including the following:

 An inspirational narrated PowerPoint presentation. 

 A discussion guide and sample 

agenda. 

 A Forest Service Wild and Scenic 

Rivers factsheet.

 Regional factsheets and scorecards.

 A communications plan with key 

messages.

 At the biennial River Management 

Society Symposium, the Interagency 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating 

Council presented two pre-symposium 

workshops for river managers on 

managing designated and study rivers, 

and on evaluating water resources 

projects under Section 7 of the Wild 

and Scenic Rivers Act. In addition, the 

Hidden Springs Ranger District Wilderness Trail Crew, Shawnee National Forest, using 

traditional skills and minimum tools to complete an erosion control trail project at the 

Bowed Tree Creek crossing.

The WWSR Program can only 

be successful if it has a trained 

and skilled workforce capable 

of professionally developing and 

implementing stewardship programs.

Fiscal Year 2008

Accomplishments

Training and Education Activities

Wilderness Training

 The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center (Carhart Center) 

provided classroom and online training 

for more than 1,000 employees, from 

front desk and visitor center managers 

to fish and wildlife, fire, and wilderness managers. Wilderness training 

included the following:

 Four interagency wilderness stewardship training courses attended 

by 180 employees—one National 

and two Regional Wilderness Stewardship courses and one Wilderness 

Fire Resource Advisor Train the 

Trainer course.

 Sixteen (3 Forest Service) unit wilderness workshops completed by 

more than 550 (91 Forest Service) 

unit managers and their staff. 

 Three online courses completed by 

345 employees—Wilderness Stewardship Planning Framework, 1964 

Wilderness Act, and Minimum 

Decision Requirements Process. 

 Four online Wilderness Management Distance Education courses 

offered through the University of 

Montana to 47 students for undergraduate/ and graduate credits.

 Wilderness.net: Expanded and 

enhanced existing Toolboxes with additional examples and downloadable 

materials. Carhart staff developed new 

Toolboxes on several topics, including 

the following:

 Grazing

 Mining

symposium included a plenary track 

on the NWSRS followed by specific 

breakout sessions for river managers to 

discuss Wild and Scenic Rivers study, 

management, and river protection 

strategies.

 A meeting of the regional directors 

included presentations by WWSR staff 

and a float trip of the Eleven Point 

Wild and Scenic River to increase understanding of the purposes, benefits, 

and potential of the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Program.

Poster promoting a Jr. Wilderness Ranger 

Program on the Bitterroot National Forest that was developed by Wilderness 

Education Leadership Award Winner, 

Kearstin Edwards.
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 5

Recipients of the 2008 National Wilderness Awards accompanied by Gail Kimbell, Forest Service Chief; Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, 

National Forest System; and Chris Brown, Director of Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers. From left to right: Forest Service Chief 

Gail Kimbell; Wilderness and Wild Scenic Rivers Program Director Chris Brown; Justin Dodson, Rob Mason, Brian Bourne, Eric Stead, 

Joe Roggenbuck, Ray Broadway, Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop, Shaaron Netherton, Pat Bruce, Brad Hunter, Kearstin Edwards, and 

Tony Longbucco.

Award Category 2008 Recipient

Aldo Leopold Award for Overall Wilderness Stewardship

Brad Hunter,

Petersburg Ranger District,

Tongass National Forest

Bob Marshall Award for Individual 

Champion of Wilderness Stewardship

Rob Mason, High Sierra District,

Sierra National Forest

Bob Marshall Award for Group Champion of Wilderness Stewardship

Friends of Nevada Wilderness

(Accepted by Pat Bruce, field project 

coordinator, and Shaaron Netherton, 

executive director)

Wilderness Education Leadership Award

Kearstin Edwards,

Powell and Lochsa Ranger Districts,

Clearwater National Forest

Traditional Skills and Minimum Tool 

Leadership Award

Hidden Springs Ranger District

Wilderness Trail Crew,

Shawnee National Forest

Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship 

Research Award

Dr. Joseph Roggenbuck,

Emeriti Professor of Natural Resource 

Recreation, Virginia Tech University

Line Officer Wilderness Leadership 

Award

Kathleen McAllister,

Deputy Regional Forester,

Northern Region

Awards

National Wilderness Award

Winners for 2008

The National Wilderness Awards 

recognize individuals and groups 

that have “improved service to the 

public, championed new techniques 

or ideas in wilderness stewardship, and improved the wilderness 

resource.” Agency leaders present the 

awards each year at a ceremony in 

Washington, DC. Not all award categories are presented each year. The 

following are the award categories 

and recipients for 2008.
6 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

Extend and Enhance Capacity

The various challenges facing 

wilderness and wild and scenic 

river management due to 

declining budget and decreasing staffing 

levels are real. One way to increase our 

capacity is to expand opportunities 

for working with our partners to 

accomplish essential stewardship work, 

such as restoration and visitor contacts. 

Partners are also essential for expanding 

opportunities for diverse groups and 

youth to access and enjoy wilderness and 

wild and scenic rivers.

Fiscal Year 2008

Accomplishments

Partnership Success Stories

 The Forest Service partnered with 

American Rivers to identify and engage 

stewardship groups to help protect and 

enhance the values of Forest Serviceadministered wild and scenic rivers. 

Activities included the following:

 Conducting an assessment of and 

developing supporting materials 

to cultivate, educate, and support 

stewardship groups.

 Communicating with nonprofit organizations regarding participation 

in the 40th Anniversary celebratory 

events on Forest Service-administered rivers as well as those events 

occurring at the national level.

 Inviting key Forest Service leadership to participate in a 40th

Anniversary gala event in

Washington, DC.

 Providing a training and planning 

workshop for the nascent stewardship groups at the May 2008 River 

Rally in Huron, OH.

 The Forest Service partnered with the 

River Management Society (RMS) to 

promote the biennial RMS Symposium and to support and coordinate 

the inclusion of a wild and scenic rivers 

track. The Wilderness and Wild and 

Scenic Rivers Program Director and 

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program 

Leader, along with regional specialists, participated in the symposium 

and served as speakers, panelists, and 

facilitators. The Forest Service also supported the maintenance of the RMS 

Web site and assisted in the funding, 

production, and oversight of public 

information materials.

 The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center partnered with a 

number of agencies and institutions, 

including the following:

 The North Cascades Institute, to 

provide wilderness education and 

stewardship experiences for lowincome, minority, and underserved 

youth in the Pacific Northwest.

 The WildeBeat at Earth Island 

Institute and the University of 

Montana, to begin producing 

multimedia podcasts on wilderness 

issues for FY 2009 delivery.

Volunteers with Friends of the Inyo’s Eastern Sierra Stewardship Corps buck out logs 

on a project funded by the National Forest Foundation in the John Muir Wilderness, 

Inyo National Forest.

Rocky Mountain Field Institute Trail Crew 

at work hauling rocks on a project funded 

by the National Forest Foundation in the 

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, San Isabel 

National Forest.
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 7

I

n 2004, the Chief of the Forest Service issued a 10-

Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge (10YWSC) 

that called on each Forest Service unit of the National 

Wilderness Preservation System to meet baseline 

management standards by 2014. The strong partnership between the Forest Service and the nonprofit 

National Forest Foundation is helping local groups 

assist the agency in meeting the 10YWSC. Each year, 

matching grants of up $50,000 are awarded to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States 

for implementing conservation projects that directly 

benefit wilderness areas. Over the past 5 years, the 

National Forest Foundation has provided more than 

$1.1 million for 76 projects addressing stewardship elements such as wilderness education, site inventories 

and monitoring, treatment of invasive species, primitive and unconfined recreation, and restoration. During this period, 186 partners and 2,561 volunteers have 

been engaged in wilderness stewardship.

In 2008, Wilderness Stewardship Challenge grants 

were given to 15 nonprofit groups. The exciting projects funded by these grants are helping Forest Service 

units maintain and restore more than 65 wilderness 

areas this year. Recipients are training and providing volunteers, assisting with trail maintenance and 

ecosystem restoration, and implementing monitoring 

programs. Examples of work being accomplished include designated campsites within wilderness areas in 

New Hampshire and Montana that are being restored 

and, in Colorado, a local nonprofit is helping relocate a 

trailhead. In the national forests of the Sierra Nevada, 

high school crews are volunteering their time on a 

trails and stewardship project. In Utah, invasive species are being removed from the Dark Canyon Wilderness Area as part of an ongoing outdoor education 

program. Public-private partnerships such as these are 

a vital element in achieving the goals of the Challenge 

in the wilderness areas set aside within our national 

forests.

National Forest Foundation

Earthcorps members relocated and maintained trails in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, 

Mt. Bake-Snoqaulmie National Forest using funds provided by the National Forest 

Foundation.

 The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Region 1 to reach out to 

hunters through the development 

of a public service announcement 

published in Bugle magazine.

 The Spanish Colonial Research 

Institute, Cooperative Ecosystem 

Studies Unit, Denver University, 

and the National Park Service to 

translate Wilderness Views into 

Spanish and provide workshop opportunities in the use of this online 

tool for Denver public school 

teachers.

 The Central and Southern Sierra 

Wilderness Education Project to 

revise and update its Web site to

integrate Wilderness Views

material, increase interactivity, 

and improve relevancy to Spanish 

speaking audiences.
8 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act celebrated its 40th 

Anniversary in 2008. Championed by Senator Frank 

Church (D-ID), Representative John Saylor (R-PA), and 

many others, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was signed into law 

by President Lyndon Johnson on October 2, 1968, and protects 

the free-flowing waters of many of our Nation’s most spectacular 

rivers. This 40th milestone provided an outstanding opportunity 

to celebrate the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 

System (National System). National, regional, and 

local events and actions that served to improve our 

awareness and understanding of wild and scenic 

rivers and propel our management of these special 

areas forward were held all around the country 

throughout 2008. 

The Stanislaus National Forest hosted a festival celebrating th

Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the forest’s local 

e 40th

wild and scenic rivers, the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers. The event 

included interagency participation and was sponsored by the Yos

Chamber of Commerce. Similar 

emite 

events took place around the 

country, including events on 

the Salmon, Upper Deschutes, 

Clarion, and Sturgeon Wild and 

Scenic Rivers.

The Ouachita National Forest Leadership Team 

and partners celebrated the 40th anniversary of 

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act with a field trip 

to the federally managed portion of the Cossatot 

Wild and Scenic River and presentations at the 

Cossatot River State Park—Natural Area Visitor 

Center. Every regional leadership team participated in similar events during 2008.

Celebrating 40 Years of 

8 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 9

The 40th Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provides an opportune time to recognize the contributions

of the Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Coordinating Council (IWSRCC), established in 1995 to facilitate coordination

between the four Federal wild and scenic rivers administering agencies (BLM, 

National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Forest Service). IWSRCC 

continues to provide a forum for identifying and clarifying matters of national and 

interagency consistency relative to implementation of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Act. Through its many technical reports 

and other products, the IWSRCC provides 

significant support to river managers in 

their day-to-day administration of wild and 

scenic rivers and serves as a great resource 

for partners and the public. The success 

of the IWSRCC (currently chaired by the 

Forest Service) is a premier example of the 

efficiencies, reduction in duplication, and 

improved service to the public that effective interagency collaboration can achieve.

American Rivers President, Rebecca Wodder, and Chair of 

the Board, Edward Whitney, look on as Forest Service Chief 

Gail Kimbell gives the keynote address at the American 

Rivers-sponsored 40th Anniversary Gala in Washington, DC.

On October 2, 2008, the actual anniversary date of the Wild 

and Scenic Rivers Act signing, Associate Chief Sally Collins, 

Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop, and National Forest System 

directors, spent a day discussing wild and scenic rivers 

management, listening to presentations from key partners, 

and paddling on the Potomac River with students from the 

Green Club at Anacostia’s Thurgood Marshall Academy.

Wild and Scenic Rivers

Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 9

Fiscal year 2008 accomplishments include the following:

 Updated the National System map and made it available on the 

IWSRCC Web site.

 Developed a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System portable 

display and banner available for use at 40th anniversary

celebrations and future river-related events.

 Added wild and scenic river public laws and

examples of water resources project evaluation to the IWSRCC 

Web site.

 Conducted two workshops in conjunction with the River

Management Society Symposium.

 Updated national statistics and other information available on 

the IWSRCC Web site.

 Provided coordinated comments to the following:

 Climate Change Science Program in its development of a 

chapter on wild and scenic rivers.

 Lead agencies on the draft and “Final Programmatic EIS 

Designation of Energy Corridors on Federal Land in

Western States.”

 Council on Environmental Quality handbook for National 

Environmental Policy Act practitioners and compliance 

requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

 Responded to more than 150 inquiries from the public and 

other Federal agencies.

Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council
10 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

Measure Performance

and Increase Accountability

Through the passage of the Wilderness 

Act of 1964 and the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Act of 1968, the public placed 

great trust in the Federal land management agencies to ensure untrammeled 

wilderness and free-flowing rivers. In 

recognition of this trust and the need 

for transparency and accountability, the 

Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Program has defined successful stewardship and measures its accomplishments 

annually.

Fiscal Year 2008

Accomplishments

 Progress was made on the Forest 

Service Chief’s 10-Year Wilderness 

Stewardship Challenge (10YWSC) 

and its goal of having all Forest Service 

wilderness areas managed to a “minimum stewardship level” by 2014, the 

50th anniversary of the Wilderness 

Act. Overall, the number of wildernesses reporting as being managed to 

this base level increased from 48 (11.8 

percent of all wildernesses) in FY 2005 

to 100 (or 24.6 percent of the total) in 

FY 2008. Wildernesses must score 60 

points to be considered as having met 

this standard. The average wilderness 

score has risen from 34.7 in FY 2005 

to 46.7 in FY 2008.

 In conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Act, FY 2008 was the baseline year 

for adding a second component to 

our “rivers meeting statutory requirements” performance measure. We now 

assess our ability to actively manage 

designated rivers as well as meet the 

planning requirements of the Act. The 

additional new active management 

component includes the following specific elements: evaluate water resources 

projects, protect outstandingly remarkable values, manage recreational use, 

and develop interagency relationships. 

FY 2008 reporting indicated that 28 

rivers (26.9 percent of the rivers for 

which the Forest Service has management responsibility) are currently 

meeting statutory requirements.

 The National Wilderness Advisory 

Group (WAG) continued to have 

significant influence on the accomplishment of the 10YWSC by working 

with regional and forest leadership to 

increase knowledge, discuss obstacles, 

and develop strategies for efficiently 

accomplishing the 10YWSC. (See 

sidebar on page 13). 

Fiscal Year

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

10-Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge 

(average wilderness score)

10-Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge

(Percent of wildernesses managed to minimum stewardship level)

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Fiscal Year

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 11

The Maroon Bells—Snowmass Wilderness, one of 46 wilderness areas managed by the Rocky Mountain Region, currently exceeds 

the minimum stewardship level.

10-Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge 

Strategies—An Example

I

n FY 2008, the 10-Year Wilderness Stewardship 

Challenge (10YWSC) goals were furthered by several initiatives using a variety of approaches. Efforts 

undertaken in the Rocky Mountain Region, Region 

2 (R2), are just one example of the types of strategies being employed to meet the minimum stewardship level or higher by the 50th Anniversary of the 

Wilderness Act in 2014. To accomplish this goal for 

the 46 wilderness units in R2, an action plan was 

developed in 2004 with a strategy to focus on one 

10YWSC element per year.

To prepare for each year’s focus, R2 uses a combination of templates, examples, extra resources, and 

preparation workshops. For example, in the first year 

of the 10YWSC, wilderness managers convened in a 

workshop and built a template for creating wilderness education plans. Each wilderness unit then used 

that template to develop a plan. In FY 2008, an air 

resources specialist was detailed to help develop a 

template for completing air quality plans.

In FY 2009, the area of emphasis will be Recreation 

Site Management (Element #6). R2 will conduct a 

region-wide “rapid assessment” campsite inventory 

in all 46 wildernesses. Field testing of the method occurred in FY 2008 and training to prepare all R2 wilderness units for this undertaking will be held at the 

annual R2 Wilderness Managers’ Winter Workshop. 

This strategy of focusing resources on one element 

per year has resulted in measurable improvements 

in the number of R2 wilderness areas meeting the 

minimum wilderness stewardship level.
12 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

Improve Integration and Coordination

The successful stewardship of both 

wilderness and wild and scenic rivers 

depends on the close coordination and 

integration of various activities with other 

Forest Service staffs and related Federal 

and State agencies. Wilderness and wild 

and scenic river management engages 

many different program areas within 

the Forest Service, including water and 

air resources; fish, wildlife, and plants; 

engineering; recreation; fire; and planning. Other Federal agencies have the 

same statutory responsibilities as the 

Forest Service, often managing adjacent 

sections of wildernesses and wild and 

scenic rivers. State and local agencies also 

have important roles to play in managing 

fish and wildlife populations, conducting 

search and rescue operations, performing 

law enforcement activities, and protecting 

river values through their authorities.

Fiscal Year 2008

Activities

 The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center (Carhart Center) 

worked with the Missoula Technology 

& Development Center and the Office of Occupational Health & Safety 

to identify traditional tools and skill 

needs across the agency and among 

our partner groups. Working together, 

these entities established an interdisciplinary saw policy development and 

revision team representing the crosscut 

and chain saw community, fire, trails, 

recreation, wilderness, health and 

safety, labor relations, and line officers. The team is revising saw policy 

to ensure consistent certification, 

recertification, and training requirements between and within regions and 

stations.

 Wild and Scenic Rivers Program staff 

worked with various Forest Service 

staffs and other Federal agencies to 

accomplish the following:

 Integrate the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program with the agency water 

strategy.

 Develop products to support wild 

and scenic river study and make 

them available to planners.

 See sidebar, page 9, for products 

and activities achieved through the 

Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Coordinating Council.

 Wilderness staff worked with various 

Forest Service staffs and governmental 

entities on several issues and products, 

including the following: 

 An Interagency Wilderness Character Monitoring Team recommended to the Interagency Wilderness Policy Council a wilderness 

character monitoring protocol for 

use by all four Federal agencies 

managing wilderness 

for assessing broad-scale 

agency performance in 

preserving wilderness 

character. The group 

published Keep it Wild: 

An Interagency Strategy 

to Monitor Trends in 

Wilderness Character 

Across the National 

Wilderness Preservation 

System. In consideration 

of adopting the strategy, 

all four agencies initiated 

pilot tests in 2008.

 We worked with the 

USDA Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection 

Service–Wildlife Services 

and Forest Service staff 

in the Wildlife, Civil 

Rights, Tribal Relations, 

Communications, and 

Regulatory Management 

programs to prepare final 

language for the policy 

on predator damage management 

in wilderness. 

 In coordination with the BLM, we 

began to develop national training 

regarding the national Memorandum of Understanding between 

the Forest Service and BLM with 

the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies on the management 

of fish and wildlife in wilderness. 

Region 1 worked closely with 

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks 

to craft a new agreement with the 

State and to develop plans for local 

training, a model that may be used 

by other States and regions.

 In response to a continuing flow of 

requests to film in wilderness, an 

interim directive for commercial 

“Keeping It Wild: An Interagency Strategy to 

Monitor Trends in Wilderness Character Across the 

National Wilderness Preservation System,” was 

published in 2008. The publication is serving as the 

guidance for a 2008-2009 pilot test of a wilderness 

monitoring conducted by the BLM, Forest Service, 

National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service.
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 13

filming in wilderness was drafted 

for the Special Uses Handbook, in 

cooperation with Lands staff and 

the USDA Office of the General 

Counsel. Several specific permit 

cases were discussed between the 

programs to provide advice to the 

field. Two national permits involvT he Forest Service’s National 

Wilderness Advisory Group 

(WAG) provides advice from the 

field to the Chief, the National 

Leadership Team, and the Wilderness Director on the overall status 

of the Forest Service’s Wilderness Stewardship Program. This 

group brings together Forest and 

Ranger District field-level managNational Wilderness Advisory Group Chair Mary Emerick met with the Forest 

Service Chief Gail Kimbell to update her on the progress of the 10-Year Wilderness 

Stewardship Challenge.

ers and representatives from the 

Regional Recreation, Heritage, 

and Wilderness Directors Team; 

the Washington Office Wilderness 

Program; the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center; 

and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness 

Research Institute. A key role of 

WAG is to facilitate the integration of wilderness-related activities 

across the agency. Members communicate with program managers to 

disseminate information and ensure 

their viewpoints are represented in 

decisionmaking processes. The WAG 

also coordinates its activities with 

the Director of the Wilderness and 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, 

regional directors with Wilderness 

program responsibilities, regional 

wilderness specialists, and groups 

such as the Wilderness Information 

Management Steering Team. 

Current WAG activities include the 

following:

	Developing a desktop video 

showcasing the Chief's support 

for the 10-Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge (10YWSC).

	Developing linkages between 

the Chief's three emphasis areas 

(Global Climate Change, Water, 

and Kids in the Woods) and wilderness.

	Collecting and sharing 10YWSC 

success stories.

	Developing a strategy and advocating for additional support 

to the field to accomplish the 

10YWSC.

	Identifying challenges involved 

with partnerships, celebrating 

successes, and recommending 

solutions to address the most 

common problems.

National Wilderness Advisory Group

ing filming in wilderness were 

issued and administered.

 Forest Service Wilderness and Law 

Enforcement programs collaborated with the U.S. Department 

of Homeland Security–Border 

Patrol on several issues, including 

proposed wilderness legislation 

near the southern border, border 

patrol training infrastructure, and 

operations. The Border Patrol 

hosted the Wilderness Program 

Leader to train at their National 

Liaison course on wilderness and 

law enforcement issues.
14 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

The many challenges that remain form 

the basis for our WWSR program of 

work in FY 2009 and beyond. These 

challenges include the following:

Develop and Promote 

a Skilled Workforce

 Increase the attendance of line officers 

and staff at wilderness and wild and 

scenic river training. This is challenging due to competition with other 

required training during a period of 

increasingly limited staff time and 

travel funding.

 Enhance and expand the electronic 

delivery of courses and individually 

paced learning with computer-based 

training modules offered by the Arthur 

Carhart National Wilderness Training 

Center and develop the capacity for 

similar wild and scenic river courses. 

This blended approach to training 

presents a significant learning curve to 

course coordinators, instructors, and 

participants, particularly because it uses 

new technology and delivery methods 

and it requires significant development 

costs. 

Extend and Enhance 

Capacity

 Move beyond the cliché of “doing 

it with partners and volunteers” and 

develop a stable system of long-term 

collaboration, shared workloads, close 

communication, and mutual trust 

with our stewardship partners. This 

desired outcome requires appropriately 

skilled agency staff and the support 

of leadership to make the partnership 

program thrive. The WWSR Program 

expects to be at the forefront of Forest 

Service partnership efforts in 2009 and 

beyond.

Improve Integration 

and Coordination

 Increase awareness of the vital role 

Forest Service programs (i.e., water and 

air resources; fish, wildlife, and plants; 

engineering; recreation; fire; and planning) have in wilderness stewardship to 

truly achieve integrated management 

of wilderness and other programs. 

Wilderness is sometimes viewed as a 

constraint to core missions as opposed 

to an integral component of overall 

program responsibilities. 

 The stewardship of wild and scenic 

rivers is challenged by a general lack of 

understanding of congressional intent 

and key provisions of the Wild Scenic 

Rivers Act. Similar to the stewardship 

of wilderness, it is often viewed as a 

recreation program rather than as the 

primary Federal conservation tool to 

protect rivers’ free-flow; water quality; and outstanding natural, cultural, 

and recreational values. An additional 

challenge is that the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Act’s encouragement of effective, basin-wide management through 

increased public understanding of, and 

appreciation for, river values and river 

conservation is not well integrated 

into broader agency strategic goals and 

priorities.

Measure Performance 

and Accountability

 Many competing priorities exist, and 

the trajectory of funds available for 

on-the-ground wilderness stewardship 

is down. Progress on the 10YWSC 

remains difficult and, at the current 

rate, we may not reach the 100-percent 

goal set for 2014.

 Increase transparency of funding for the 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Program and 

use the 2008 baseline accomplishment 

to set a trajectory for improvement.

 Improve participation in the preparation of Forest Service strategic plan and 

budget documents seeking to meaningfully integrate wilderness and wild and 

scenic rivers into the descriptions that 

serve to articulate agency priorities.

Looking Ahead...

The following key activities are included 

on the Wilderness and Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Program of work for FY 2009:

 Continue working toward developing 

stewardship groups for every wilderness and wild and scenic river.

 Continue to develop and clarify policies and guidance on priority wilderness issues, including fish and wildlife 

management, filming, commercial 

services needs assessments, capacity for 

visitor uses, minimum requirements/

prohibited uses, and climate change.

 Continue to clarify and develop policies and guidance for wild and scenic 

rivers.

 Continue to provide expert review 

and comment on legislative proposals 

before Congress, including assistance 

with the development of departmental 

testimony.

 Serve as leaders for the Interagency 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating 

Council and the Interagency Wilderness Steering Committee.

 Identify ways to increase efficiency and 

effectiveness as the agency continues to 

evolve in organization and structure.

 Partner and participate in the Interagency River Managers Workshop

 Provide planning and leadership for 

agency involvement in WILD9—the 

9th World Wilderness Congress.

 Continue pilot evaluation of the wilderness character monitoring protocol. 

The Challenges That Remain
Fiscal Year 2008 in Review 15

Special thanks to all our partners who, in 2008, helped 

our Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program 

succeed

American Hiking Society

American Rivers

Backcountry Horsemen of America

Campaign for America’s Wilderness

Central and Southern Sierras Wilderness Education 

Project

Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands,

Indiana University

Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning,

Virginia Technological University

Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics

National Forest Foundation

National Outdoor Leadership School

North Cascades Institute

River Management Society

Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Spanish Colonial Research Institute

Student Conservation Association

The Wild Foundation

WildeBeat at Earth Island Institute

The Wilderness Institute, University of Montana

Wilderness Land Trust

University of Colorado at Denver

Bureau of Land Management

National Park Service

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

U.S. Border Patrol

 U.S. Geological Society

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service

Forest Inventory and Analysis
16 Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination 

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national 

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial 

status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, 

political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s 

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all 

prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for communication of program information 

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of 

discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call 

(800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department 

of Agriculture

Forest Service

National Wilderness 

Preservation System

National Wild and Scenic 

Rivers System

FS-921 

February 2009