Legacy Gifts

Ryan Ghelfi

December 17, 2024

Nothing is certain in this world. News of the US Forest Service seasonal worker hiring freeze has been spreading rapidly. We still don’t know what this will mean on the ground in the Wilderness areas we love over the coming years, but it’s likely not great news.

The Selway-Bitterroot Foundation (our name was changed to the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation in 2012) was born in 2006 out of a need for increased on-the-ground stewardship in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Many of the trails were degrading, and the workforce needed to maintain this massive area had been deficient for decades.

Over the past twenty years, SBFC has made significant strides in addressing these challenges, but the task remains immense. Despite our efforts, Wilderness users continue to witness an urgent need for more dedicated people to keep these areas accessible, maintain essential Wilderness skills, and preserve our human connection to these wild places.

SBFC can play a more prominent role in this narrative. It’s within our collective power. I rarely discuss money in my regular dispatches from the director's desk. It’s not the subject that people are the most excited about, but without it, none of our work— whether it’s trail restoration, youth expeditions, or volunteer projects— would be possible.

This is not a call for donations, but rather an invitation to think about our collective legacy. What kind of world do we want to leave for our children? How do we want them to engage with the Selway-Bitterroot and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness areas?

It’s a bit personal, but I’ll share this: At 36, creating my own will hasn’t been top of mind. Yet, with three kids, I know it’s an overlooked responsibility I must address in 2025. Reflecting on mortality, legacy, and finances has made me consider what I value most. And ensuring that others can experience this Wild country— whether in the Selway, the Frank, or other Wilderness areas in the American West— is something I deeply care about. That’s why I’ve decided that SBFC and other key organizations will be beneficiaries in my will.

Here is my ask: If you haven’t already, consider including SBFC in your will or trust. A simple step today can guarantee the long-term viability of these remarkable places, regardless of political winds. And if you’ve already taken this step, please let me know. Your commitment and motivation are invaluable to us, and I would love to hear your story.

Opening pathways for all to discover and steward the Selway Bitterroot and Frank Church River of No Return is at the core of what we do, and who we are today, and it will continue to drive us forward. I want to thank each of you for coming on this journey with us.

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The Selway-Bitterroot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and our Federal Tax ID is 27-2868220.

Board of Director's Update

Ryan Ghelfi

November 13, 2024

An impactful nonprofit organization needs a strong board, period. Without committed board members who govern, direct, and help raise funds for the mission, any organization will slowly wither away like an unprepared hiker deep in the Frank under a hot August sun.

Four long-time board members retired from the SBFC board at our November meeting in McCall. They have all transitioned to ambassador roles and will continue to help us achieve our mission (without attending quite as many meetings). I would like to highlight each of these amazing people.

John Lloyd from Ketchum, Idaho served six years on the board. John is an avid outdoorsman and is one of the few people to have hiked all of the Idaho Centennial Trail. His love of the Wilderness and extensive time hiking and volunteering in the Frank Church-River of No Return has helped SBFC in so many ways.

From his first pack trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness at the age of fourteen, throughout his career as a medical doctor in the U.S. Military and during his fifteen years of invaluable service on the SBFC board, Chuck Miller, of Hamilton, Montana, has held a strong commitment to the concept and public enjoyment of Wilderness. Never lacking in energy, he enhanced his effectiveness on the board through his leadership role in backcountry horsemen chapters and his long days of project packing support and trail maintenance work in the Wilderness.

Nancy Feldman from Boise, Idaho served seven years on the SBFC board, two as the board chairperson. Nancy never let anything slip and was steadfast in her leadership of this organization. Our organizational policies have improved dramatically as she’s been the governance committee chair for the past three years. She and her husband Murray (also a former board member) have hosted events at their home and have always had a place for me to stay when I am working in Boise. I expect I’ll be visiting them for many years to come!

There is no one I called more often during my first year on the board than Joni Stright. Joni is from Boise, Idaho, and served on the SBFC board for six years. She was the board treasurer and helped see SBFC through so much, including the tumultuous COVID-19 era. When I arrived, I had a great deal to learn. We’ve made many changes, and Joni’s mentorship and advice have been invaluable as I navigated difficult situations.

Finally, we had a significant changing of the guard this November. As the ED, I work most closely with the board chair. Jim Heidelberger held this role for the past three years, and he’s done such an admirable job. His humor and wit are balanced by a steadfast work ethic, always chasing down every loose end, not to mention spearheading the largest SBFC volunteer project of 2024 (maybe ever) at Big Sand Lake in the Selway-Bitterroot. Jim passed the gavel, but he will remain on our board, for which I am grateful.

Taking Jim’s place as board chair is Shawn Donley, of Stevensville, Montana. Shawn is fairly new to the SBFC board, but he’s jumped in headfirst. He participated in four volunteer trail projects last season and has taken to learning the ins and outs of this sprawling organization. We are thrilled to have Shawn leading the charge for this dynamic board.

We welcomed two new board members in November as well: Ron Anderson of Ketchum, Idaho and Chris Lundy of Stanley, Idaho. We are grateful for their time, treasure, and talent!

From the staff and board, we want to thank each of these people for their dedication to the Wildest Place, and for doing more than their share of work to connect people to Wilderness. Our future, and the future of these amazing places, is brighter because of their efforts.  

The Impermanence of Open Trails (Sept. 2024)

Ryan Ghelfi

September 5, 2024

When we are laying out our season of work in the winter and spring, we set up some ambitious goals. One of our primary organizational objectives is to help keep trails open and Wilderness accessible for the public. As any who have volunteered or spent a season working on a Wilderness trail crew know, it’s a monumental task.

This season we aimed to clear the trail between Elk Summit and Blodgett Pass. The 13 miles connecting the Idaho and Montana portions of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness had not been cleared of downfall in five seasons. In any forest, but especially going through burned sections of forest, this meant that there were thousands of trees down across the trail. A trail in this condition is not passable to stock and is extremely difficult for any hiker to navigate.

So it was with great vim and vigor that our crews and volunteers set out across multiple hitches in July, clearing those thousands of trees. After our crews hiked out from the area on July 24th we could say the cross border route was open!

But here’s the thing: “Open” is a very tricky and time-sensitive word when it comes to Wilderness trails. On the morning of July 24th, the trail was clear of trees. But as our crews went to bed in Missoula to begin their days off on the night of the 24th, Mother Nature had something other than “open” in mind.

Throughout that night, winds reached speeds over 100 mph in locations across the region. Large live trees were ripped from their roots. Massive sections of forest were blown down like matchsticks. The Moose Creek Ranger Station was heavily damaged by trees that had stood through dozens of windstorms over hundreds of years.

Our crews awoke to a different world. And the trail from Elk Summit to Blodgett Pass had been “open” for merely 12 hours before being affected by the storm, with hundreds of trees down on recently cleared sections of trail. One of the Forest Service trail folks we work with regularly said a funny thing to me recently that resonated. When people ask him if a trail is open he says, “I will only guarantee a trail is open for 24 hours after it's been worked.” Maybe 24 hours is too generous.

It makes you reckon with the question “Why are we doing this work?” Certainly, every tree we cut on every hitch is a tree that will not have to be cut later. But I think there is a more important point buried underneath. To me, as our 2024 season is gradually winding down, I’ve discovered a different purpose, one that Mother Nature cannot take away. The work itself is the point. The Wilderness is a place where our connections to nature hold fast, and where the nature of the work remains as it was 100 years ago. A place where our human limits and resolve are tested, and where we must endure through all sorts of difficult circumstances. For the people who choose to work in Wilderness, opening trails for others, whether they be paid or volunteers, the work itself (paychecks aside) is the goal; it’s not merely a means to an end. The fact that hundreds of people choose to continue to work to keep trails open in the Selway and the Frank with us each summer gives me hope that we as a people are strong, resilient, and continuing to move forward in the right direction without losing our connections to the past.

Thank you for supporting this work, whether by volunteering, making a donation, or cheering on our crews. We appreciate you!

P.S. Due to some good fortune and timing, we were able to send multiple crews and groups of volunteers back to Elk Summit during August. As of August 21, the trail from Elk Summit to Blodgett Pass was clear of trees yet again. I have not heard of any big windstorms since. So I suggest you lace up your hiking boots and go see this amazing and wild country. Now is always the best time.

Four Crews in Four Days: A Whirlwind Wilderness Adventure (June 2024)

Ryan Ghelfi

July 17-21, 2024

We are in the heart of our Wilderness season with dozens of people on numerous crews in the field all across the Frank and Selway. Even for me, with all the data, spreadsheets, and communications at my fingertips, it’s a lot to track.

Last week I was fortunate to carve out four days to get out on the ground. The logistics were perfect with four of our crews and 36 individual people in close enough proximity for me to visit in quick succession. In the middle of my second year at SBFC, I remain confident that there is no substitute for getting on the trail with our crews and seeing what is happening in the Wilderness firsthand.

What I saw on this past week's swing was nothing short of spectacular. First, I visited Ian and Emma, who were leading six 13-14 year olds on our second Youth Wilderness Expedition at Walton Lakes. The trail down to the first lake was in decent shape, but brushy and the group took the task to heart opening up the trail corridor on day two. On day three I joined them and we began scouting the trail that continues to the upper Walton Lakes. This trail was buried under deadfall and the crew made fine work reopening half a mile of beautiful tread, creating possibilities for the future. We will come back next year with another youth expedition to continue the work where they left off. I was thrilled to see these teens relishing the work and their time in the wild, bugs and all. This was the perfect location for this age group. This crew rocked it!

Next, I hightailed it over to Big Sand Lake out of Elk Summit where the Whisky in the Woods crew from Moscow had been posted up and cutting out hundreds of logs for the previous 15 days. Over 20 volunteers in two separate groups came out to bring back numerous trails in the area. Five intrepid souls stayed for a full immersion of 17 days. This crew was packed in and out of the woods by multiple packers, including the Binninger family of Landgrove Coffee fame, as well as Nez Perce-Clearwater NF Packer Pete! SBFC Wilderness trail crews teamed up with the whisky crew to create multiple “super crews” and it shows.  Over 33 miles of trail were logged out, and the number of trees removed from the corridor was into the thousands. Near the end of the final hitch the crew made it all the way to Blodgett Pass from the Idaho side which was a big win!  More downed trees remain on other important connections; we look forward to clearing them all next summer.

In addition to SBFC trail crews and the Whisky crew, another crew of retired smoke jumpers from the National Smokejumper Association spent five days bringing the Bridge Creek Trail back to life, also near Elk Summit. This was heavy deferred work, and the crew earned every inch of trail reclaimed. Their efforts created numerous opportunities to find solitude and helped the crews that followed them to get into the country where they’d be working.

I met one of the crews that followed (Wyatt, Rowan, Clarrine, Ian, and USFS trail specialist Nick H) as they were sitting down to dinner on the lee side of some 10-year-old pines, the only shade in town. They were cutting 100+ logs a day, and the contrast could not be more stark. As I was hiking towards them I came upon an unworked section of trail. My pace slowed to a crawl and I came out bloody as I navigated a few hundred uncut logs over a couple mile stretch. (Our stellar team cut these later in their hitch). Seeing (and feeling) this night and day difference tells a story in real terms like no blog post or hitch report ever could.  

Finally, the fourth crew I visited on my tour in the Northern Selway was the CatRock Ventures youth group from New York City led by SBFC trail crew Lead April Eling along with Wilderness Ranger Fellows Jack, Caroline, and Emma. This crew picked up the work where last year’s CatRock group left off on the One Horse Lake Trail on the Bitterroot National Forest. We were excited to complete this project, reopening this primitive trail for the first time in many years. The trail provides access to one of the most beautiful basins I’ve seen in my time at SBFC. This crew learned a ton and worked hard. Through their efforts, the public has a terrific opportunity to experience this corner of the wilderness. Solitude and unparalleled beauty are hallmarks in this tucked-away corner of the Bitterroot.

My whirlwind tour is just a small sample of the full body of work that all our crews have performed this season thus far. Our staff, Wilderness Ranger Fellows, and volunteers  are accomplishing an incredible amount, and providing the public with the ability to connect to our wildest places. We need these places now more than ever. Each time I have the opportunity to work alongside our people and see firsthand what it takes, I come out invigorated and eager to keep pushing forward and building momentum. The SBFC community is moving mountains (and logs) out there, and I am so grateful. Alas, the work never ends… we’ll keep at it so that people today and forever can experience and enjoy the Wildest Place.

SBFC Board Meeting Recap (May 2024)

Ryan Ghelfi

May 30, 2024

The third weekend in May is a very special time for SBFC. This was the case in spades this year. We had our annual Missoula board meeting, where 17 of our 19 board members attended in-person, with 2 more tuned-in remotely for full attendance. It’s stunning to me that we were able to bring our whole team together in this way from all across this wild region.

Our board of directors has grown a great deal in the last two years. Eleven of the 19 current members have come into the fold since 2022, and the energy is palpable. Their fresh perspectives, paired with the institutional wisdom and ideas of the tenured board members, make a strong team. The skills, experience, and passion in this group are incredible. We have members from Boise to Missoula and all points in between. People are engaged and eager to help chart the course for the years ahead.

At the same time as the board meeting, our Wilderness Ranger Fellows had just finished up their first week of training with our program directors and crew leads. This group has traveled from across the country to learn, live, and work in the Wilderness this summer, and we could not be happier to see them growing and adapting at a rapid rate.

All told, when you consider our whole team, we are 57 strong. It’s astounding and humbling for me to think about all of the people who put so much of themselves into SBFC, our mission, and the Wildest Place in the Lower 48.

This week our seasonal crews are out on their first training hitch together as leaders and Fellows. They are working to maintain and improve trails branching off of the Main and Middle Fork Salmon Rivers, deep in the heart of the Frank Church-River of No Return.

These are the people and this is the work that will maintain Wilderness values, character, and access for the decades to come. Our season in the Frank and the Selway is upon us. Together, we are up for the challenge.