Ryan Ghelfi

January 29, 2026

SBFC is celebrating 20 years of working in the Wilderness! There are countless people who have played roles in growing, shaping, and fostering this amazing organization, which I am lucky to serve. Over the coming year, we will be celebrating this major milestone and looking at the path ahead.

In 2024 and 2025 our SBFC board and staff worked diligently to debate and envision the central purpose and “why” for our organization. While it might seem simple, it was nothing of the sort. We are excited to share our new mission statement with you, our loyal supporters and readers!

At SBFC, we open pathways for all to discover and steward the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness areas and surrounding wildlands. This is our new organizational mission statement.

We accomplish this mission by working shoulder-to-shoulder with the US Forest Service to engage the full spectrum of Wilderness and trails stewards, from professional staff crews, to summer interns, to adult and youth volunteers. To further accomplish our mission, we engage with schools and educators to provide Wilderness education to young people throughout the region while also providing Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness grant opportunities to enhance our ability to engage the next generation of Wilderness stewards.

While the mission statement is refreshed, the work remains the same. SBFC’s focus is on connecting people to wilderness and providing value to users and our USFS partners.

Predicting the future is impossible and a fool's errand. But something I will predict is that the Wilderness and trail stewardship needs throughout our mission area will continue to be substantial in the years and decades ahead, and our SBFC team will continue to do everything in our power to accomplish our mission at the highest level. Stewardship is not something you “finish.” It’s something we must collectively do forever. Forever can sound daunting, but I prefer to see it as an opportunity. Wilderness work might be the best kind of work around, and I am honored that this organization will play a role in helping many discover and steward the Wildest Place in the Lower 48 for many years to come.

As always, feel free to reach out with thoughts, questions, or comments!