SBFC Works Shoulder-to-Shoulder with the USFS

Ryan Ghelfi

October 23, 2025

I’ve served as the executive director of SBFC for just over 2.5 years, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know many of the current and former Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness staff at the US Forest Service.

One sentiment that I’ve heard echoed by numerous wilderness retirees is that USFS wilderness and trail crews back in the day were much more robust. One retiree said “we used to have 60 people working on trails and Wilderness on the Forest back in 1975,” and yet another told me that  “I had 20 people working for me in the Wilderness and Trails shop on my district back in 2001.” These numbers are not reflective of crews today. While the quality of our USFS partners is top-notch, the quantity is not nearly the same.

Hearing those anecdotal numbers from USFS retirees paints a vivid picture for me. All told, it’s easy to see why we are facing such a difficult situation on the ground with trails becoming more challenging to maintain each year, intervals between maintenance lengthening, rangers monitoring sites and areas less often than they once did, and a growing backlog of deferred maintenance (according to a 2018 report, the USFS trail repair backlog is $279 million). The reality is, the shrinking number of staff dedicated to these wilderness areas is no match for the (not shrinking) acreage. 

While I dream about what a fully staffed USFS trail crew in the last century could have accomplished, that is just it… a dream. Meanwhile, SBFC and other partner organizations are here working shoulder-to-shoulder with our USFS partners, accomplishing work on the ground. The USFS does not raise private funds, but we can, and thanks to donors like you, we are able to send hundreds of people into the wilderness each summer to get the job done.

This year, we hired eight full-time seasonal crew leaders/assistants, each with a breadth of experience in the wilderness and trails world. We brought on 13 Wilderness Ranger Fellows, each of whom contributed hundreds of hours of wilderness trail work and became highly adept at wilderness skills. Hundreds of volunteers came from across the country to spend their days performing manual labor on the trails and their nights camped under the stars, and teens from Idaho and Montana likewise shared their energy via trail work while learning about wilderness, backpacking, and the like.

To further support these wilderness areas and address emerging needs, we have expanded our programs in new and exciting ways. This summer, in partnership with the Salmon-Challis National Forest, we hired River Checkers and River Rangers on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon Rivers to ensure continued wilderness stewardship in these heavily visited river corridors. We also took on critical work in the Sawtooth and Gospel Hump Wilderness areas, meeting the urgent need for more boots on the ground. Meanwhile, our Youth Wilderness Program continues to grow, cultivating the next generation of wilderness leaders so that these magnificent wild places have future stewards.

So, what does the future look like? I can’t say. My crystal ball is hazy, just like everyone’s. What I do know is that the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness areas are essential. We need people out there working in these places, keeping our trails and connection to the country strong and sustainable. People want to be out here doing this work, grueling, exhausting, and unglamorous as it might be. I don’t know if we’ll ever have 60 people working seasonally on wilderness and trails on any given forest in the future, like we did in the past. But SBFC will be here, converting your donations into direct impact for our beloved wilderness areas.

Our 2025 season has been a resounding success. Stay tuned for all the details about all the work that was accomplished in the coming weeks in The Wildest Place newsletter and online. We were able to be successful this season because of donors like YOU.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments. Email me anytime!

Year Two of the Youth Wilderness Program

Ryan Ghelfi

September 16, 2025

The 2025 season of the SBFC Youth Wilderness Program is in the books. We still have Wilderness trail crews and adult volunteers headed into the field through mid-October. There is so much work to be done out there! But for now, I’d like to share with you, our esteemed readers, some of my thoughts and highlights from our second season of bringing local youth into the Wildest Place.

During my first year working for SBFC, I realized that we needed to take a significant step to connect the next generation of stewards to their backyard wilderness areas. I heard from numerous people that they had never been into the Frank or the Selway.  With trail access often difficult and the skills, gear, and know-how required to step into the wild not easily accessible, we knew this was a gap we could help fill.

In 2024, SBFC hired a new program director who was tasked with the challenging project of building a new program from scratch, dedicated to immersing young people in our Wilderness complex and passing along the skills needed to confidently return and be stewards of these wild places.

The program launched last summer with four expeditions, and I am excited to share that the impact in 2025 (by the numbers and more importantly the individual experiences) has been even greater.

Providing these transformative experiences for free, where a young person's willingness and desire are the primary barriers to entry, was key. I am happy to say we’ve done that. Through the generosity of many donors (of money and gear), foundations, grantors, parents, teachers, Forest Service partners, the Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness Education Fund, and staff, this work has come together to provide nearly 50 young people with the opportunity to learn how to care for their wilderness lands over extended, multiday backcountry expeditions in 2025. The personal growth and passions ignited have exceeded my expectations.

We will share more numbers, stats, and stories over the fall about the youth program, as well as all the other stellar crews, volunteers, and stewardship work people wearing an SBFC hat have done this year. But for now, I will leave you with a new blog by one of our youth participants this season. It’s safe to say, as one of our founding members Connie Saylor Johnson said, “if you can get them out there, they’ll be hooked for life”.  We need these young people to be the stewards of these places today and for many years to come. And based on their feedback, I do not doubt that many of them will be just that.

A Hike in the Frank, Just Because

Ryan Ghelfi

July 24, 2025

Rarely do I head into the Frank Church without an express purpose. A trail to survey, or a crew to work with. This past week, two friends from McCall and I spent 3+ days covering new ground in the heart of some of the most remote corners of the Wilderness, just because.

It can be hard to find time to get out “just because,” but I always find that it’s more than worth it. This was the case for our most recent adventure.

The hike began at the Big Creek Trailhead, traveling downstream to the east, as so many adventures in this part of the Frank often do. We were surprised to find both camps near the Beaver Creek confluence full, so we continued further into the dark that evening. We had a lot of miles to cover the next day, so perhaps it was a blessing.

This trip was marked by clear, but at times smoky skies. With a couple of active fires in the Frank, we paid attention, but none of the current blazes were particularly close to our route when we departed. Day 2 took us up Crooked Creek (with much evidence of recent brushing, thanks Cold Meadows Forest Service Crew!) to Cold Meadows Guard Station, and then onto Black Lake. This massive lake lies in a steeply walled Canyon and was perhaps the finest piece of country I’ve visited thus far in the Frank Church. Hard to convey how it feels to camp in a location so remote and magnificent at the same time.

Day 3 took us from Black Lake, back to Cold Meadows, and then onto Chamberlain Basin. Just past the private inholding at Root Ranch, we came upon a massive old-growth Ponderosa next to the trail. This tree had no business being alive. It has been burned through over ⅔ of its diameter by who knows how many different fires over the centuries. And yet, we looked up and gazed upon a lifeform standing tall, proud, and nowhere near death. The feeling of awe this tree invoked is hard to overstate. If the Wilderness can teach nothing else, it’s that resilience is perhaps the most essential trait any lifeform can possess.  We arrived at Chamberlain tired, very hungry, and grateful for the places our feet had taken us that day.

Our final day was marked by seeing other humans! Not always a common occurrence. It turned out I had been corresponding with both of the groups we encountered. One couple was traveling across the entire Wilderness complex over the course of a month or so. They are still out there as you read this letter, and I wish them well on their journey. It thrills me to see people making this long trip, regardless of all of the difficulties they face along the way. The second group was a 3-generation family with four young kids in tow. The parents of the kids had both worked multiple trail seasons on the Krassel District and were now taking their kids back to show them after years away. What a special thing to do as a family!

There are many places in the West and Idaho grander and classically appealing than the Frank Church. Nearly every bit of the county we saw had been impacted by fire. The terrain is rolling and it lacks the in-your-face sheer granite walls that many people might call Wilderness “eye candy.” One of our board members told me recently that other Wilderness might be eye candy, but the Frank Church is soul candy. I love that idea, and after covering nearly 100 miles in some of the more remote corners of the Frank, I could not agree with this sentiment more.

To experience a place is to know it. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to know this part of the Krassel District, Frank Church River of No Return, and to feel intimately what makes it so special; worth caring for and about. Strapping on a pack and stepping into the Wilderness is never easy, but it’s always worth it.

More Than Just a Job

Ryan Ghelfi

May 29, 2025

Sometimes I get the sense that people who work in the Wilderness to maintain our trail systems feel like they have to explain or justify why they don’t have a “real job” yet…why they are still working seasonally, cutting logs out of the trail corridor, and digging in the dirt. I can empathize with this sentiment. I, too, at one time, felt like I needed to explain my life decisions and why I hadn’t gotten a “real” 9-5 office job.

One of our esteemed board members, Nick Hazelbaker, wrote a terrific poem entitled “More Than Just a Job.” This person spent their whole career working in the Wilderness, working on public lands for the benefit of all people. After hearing this poem read aloud, I could not agree more with the specifics and the sentiment. Whether someone spends a year or a career working in the Wilderness, those times, efforts, and memories are irreplaceable. The work itself and the value created are potent, tangible, and as meaningful as any line of work I can imagine.

Some might think I am speaking in hyperbole, but I mean every word. The esteem I hold for each person who chooses to dedicate their effort and passions to working in the Wilderness is of the highest regard. I consider these jobs to be as real as it gets, and frankly, far more than just a job. For me, having the privilege of helping lead this fine organization is far more than a job, it’s a calling that I could not say no to.

So, for all our folks at SBFC, and all those folks working in the woods, on trails, and wildlands across our whole country, the question “when should I get a real job” might need to be rephrased, flipped on its head. I think the real question ought to be “when will I choose to leave my real job behind,” because it’s safe to say, there is no job more real than working outdoors helping to preserve our nation’s Wilderness legacy.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on this topic!

This is Why We Do It

Ryan Ghelfi

April 30, 2025

There is nothing finer than digging tread with nine other intrepid souls and preserving something as invaluable as an 18- 24” wide path through the deepest recesses of the largest Wilderness in the Lower 48.

After a long fall and winter working behind the scenes in an office without windows, the fruits of that time and labor are coming to bear.

This past Wednesday, our eight 2025 SBFC crew leaders, Wilderness Program Director, and I traveled to Lantz Bar on the Salmon River and began work in the footprint of the 2024 Elkhorn Ridge Fire, maintaining and preserving the #113 Dwyer Smith Trail in the Bitterroot National Forest. This key connector is the only way to travel on foot or stock east to west in this very remote part of the Frank Church.

On our first night in the Wilderness, we sat in a circle, cooking dinner and talking about the paths in our lives that had led us all to be there, working to sustain a Wilderness legacy. One theme that emerged was that each person had a profound and lasting connection to nature and being outside as much as possible. For them, it’s a yearning and a calling more than a job. It became apparent that there was nowhere in the world any of them would have rather been.

The next morning, their first full day of trail work for the season, the day broke clear, calm, and perfect for 10+ hours of hard technical and manual labor in the low country of the Frank. So much of the tread on this trail had become thin, out-sloped, and dangerous for stock to travel across. Swinging picks, Pulaskis, and begrudgingly using the less sought-after shovel, the crew traveled three miles up the trail, gaining over 1,400 feet in elevation, and brought it back to its intended specifications. The crew had 6 days remaining and 12 more miles to go before hitch 1 would be in the books.

Midday, we sat eating lunch on a knife-edge ridge, in a sea of countless knife-edge ridges, gazing down on the Wild and Scenic Salmon River, either secretly or openly knowing that in this place, in this moment, we were all living out our grandest dreams.

The work that our people do in the Wilderness is essential. The minute details and the quality of their efforts have a direct impact on a resource that we want and need to exist for many, many years to come. After spending two days working alongside our 2025 crew leaders at the start of our 19th season of Wilderness work, what is obvious is that having dozens of people committed to this work each season in the Selway and the Frank is likely more important than the work itself. The character forged through working in the Wilderness is second to none. The deep appreciation and love for these lands and the lessons learned are lasting. For our people, no matter where they go in the remaining decades of their lives, a significant part of them will always be out here in the Wildest Place in the Lower 48. And for me, ensuring that these fine people are out here working in the Wilderness season after season is what keeps me going and returning to my windowless office day after day.

As we head into our Wilderness season, I am confident in our crews and in the Wilderness legacy they are helping shape. If you want to join us in this mission, please contribute to SBFC as we close out Idaho Gives this week. Your gift will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000, helping us further our wilderness mission. If you have already donated, thank you!

We’ve got the crew. We just need you.

Ryan Ghelfi

March 26, 2025

The core of our mission at SBFC is simple: We work on the ground to steward the largest Wilderness in the Lower 48. This is what we’ve done since our inception nearly 20 years ago, and it’s what we will do 20 years from now. We are a no-nonsense, non-advocacy outfit; purpose-built to help people discover and steward one of the most special and important landscapes anywhere in the world.

The nature of the work is time-consuming, arduous, and requires massive amounts of human effort. Keeping trails passable, sustainable, and available for the public requires a special kind of initiative and resolve. Luckily for us, we have 22 individuals slated to join our ranks in April and May. Six crew leaders, two assistant leads, and an anticipated 14 Wilderness Ranger Fellows will comprise the core of our field leadership, decision-making, and muscle across Idaho and Southwest Montana. These people are passionate, hard-working, and dedicated, and they are ready to pull saws, swing pulaskis, and do what it takes to maintain our Wilderness trails and legacy.

We have well over 500 miles of trail maintenance planned for 2025, which helps us keep the promise of Wilderness for the benefit of the American people, today and forever.

Typically, as we enter the summer season of wilderness work, we have federal grants and agreements lined up with each forest in the Selway and the Frank that help pay for our crews. This year, we are approaching the summer season with potential delays on a handful of our agreements. Our team of leaders, fellows, and volunteers are ready to hit the trail in the next few months, but we need your help to make sure we can keep them going all season long.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 by May 31st so that we can keep our staff and fellows on payroll, and so that through their work, we as citizens can follow through on the promise of an enduring Wilderness legacy for generations to come. This week only, a generous donor (and a longtime volunteer in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness) has offered a $5,000 match for all donations toward this goal. If you give between today and March 30, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar, doubling your impact.

We are a small, nimble, and resilient organization. We were formed nearly 20 years ago, I think for this very moment in time, when our skills, effort, and resolve are needed the most.

Thank you for your commitment to our Wilderness, this mission, and to the people who are ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and get the work done out in the Selway and the Frank.

A Critical Moment for Wilderness- Federal Layoffs and What It Means for Our Public Lands

Ryan Ghelfi

February 21, 2025

By this point, many of you have likely heard news about the terminations that have recently taken place across federal agencies, including at the US Forest Service. We were disheartened to learn that the majority of field-going personnel SBFC has had the privilege of working with across our region have been let go. This same story is repeated in most districts and forests across the country. These staff were “probationary,” not in the sense that their performance was below standard, but because of their untenured time in their position (less than a year in most cases). Many of these people had worked for the agency for many years and were in a probationary period because they had recently changed their employment status from “temporary” to “permanent,” or were recently promoted. These were hard-working people dedicated to providing incredible service to the American people and our public lands.

Public lands, Wilderness, and trails, which in many cases were already significantly short-staffed due to the seasonal employee hiring freeze announced in September and underfunded for years, are going to be in a much worse situation in the coming year and beyond.

We can understand the need for increased government efficiency, but the recent actions were done with a blunt machete and with no regard for how important public functions will get done.

It’s hard to know right now what the future holds for the Selway-Bitterroot, the Frank Church, and so many other wild lands across the country. The Wilderness will still be there, but without a strong workforce to maintain access, will many get the opportunity to experience these treasured places? I don’t know.

What I do know is that it’s incumbent upon us as citizens and people who value Wilderness to ensure people today and tomorrow have the same opportunities we’ve had, to be immersed in wild places, and to have these life-changing experiences. We also need a citizenry who are passionately connected and committed to Wilderness. Right now this feels like it’s the biggest open question. How much do we collectively as citizens value Wilderness and public lands? We are about to find out.

What I can tell you is that SBFC is here for the long haul. We will weather this storm and will continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with people who care about Wilderness. We will fight to keep our trail crews, volunteers, and youth headed into this wild country, keeping trails open, and the dream of Wilderness alive. If this period of time tells us anything it’s that we cannot take Wilderness or public lands for granted. It’s our job to build the next generation of wilderness constituents and to continue to bring more people into the Wilderness tent.

Were you affected by the federal employee firings? Do you have thoughts about the impact on our federal lands? I want to hear from you. My inbox is open… email me.

The Intersection of Wilderness and Technology

Ryan Ghelfi

January 15, 2025

Wilderness exists as a line on a map. It’s a line that also exists in reality, though it’s not always apparent when you cross it. Once you traverse the line, rules and feelings change. Change from a chainsaw to a crosscut, from a vehicle to foot, from loud to quiet. Another thing that generally changes when traveling from the front-country to the backcountry is cell phone reception. Of course, cell phones (particularly smartphones enabled with the internet) are a new thing in the last generation, but they are ubiquitous. In many Wilderness areas, a lack of cell service causes phones to become a lot less useful and distracting– until recently.

You can now use a cell phone to send SOS emergency text messages via satellite (which a Garmin In-Reach also does). You can also carry a Starlink in your backpack and take the internet anywhere, even in the deepest canyons and highest peaks of the Selway and the Frank. Traditional cell coverage continues to expand quickly. These changes are happening in real time. This is a big deal, and it will change the way we interact with wilderness.

Soon, it will require a conscious choice to leave the connected world behind, even 20 miles from the nearest road. Many of us now bring our cell phones into the Wilderness to take pictures, use offline maps, and listen to downloaded podcasts. These changes have already been monumental and have, in many ways, eroded the Wilderness experience. I am personally guilty of each of these things. But now, the decision about how to use technology in wilderness will be even more consequential over the coming years. Once there is widespread cheap satellite connectivity to the internet, we will have to actively choose to unplug. Otherwise, emails and texts will never stop pinging at us, even when we are 6,000ft deep in the Middle Fork of the Salmon.

I had a very engaging conversation with one of our supporters recently. This person spends many days helping people to experience the Wild and Scenic beauty and awe of rivers across the West. He told me a story about guiding in the Grand Canyon. In the past, there was no cell reception at the put-in. The night before the trip launched, all the guides would gather to get to know each other, play music, and talk about the upcoming trip, just as you would expect.  One recent season, the magical experience of connecting with fellow guides before a 17-day journey on one of the world's greatest rivers was shattered by, you guessed it, the internet. People were on their phones– talking, texting, and watching movies. That wonderful wilderness experience went by the wayside, with technology replacing camaraderie

There are many risks to Wilderness and our experience of it. But I think this is the most significant risk we currently face. There are countless others, and I don’t intend to diminish them. But soon, the choice of how we interact with Wilderness and each other will change, and we will have to decide how to reckon with it. So far, our society has been relatively unsuccessful in restraining ourselves when it comes to using addictive technology. Now is the best time for all of us to impose some personal guardrails.

We’d like to hear from you. What do you think about this topic? How has the use of technology already changed your experience of the Wilderness? What are you concerned about? Or do you feel like we are making a big deal about nothing? SBFC is a leader in Wilderness, but we are nothing without our many members, supporters, mentors, and guides throughout the region and the country. Together we will forge ahead on this grand Wilderness experiment.