Roaming grizzly sparks wilderness action

by Annie Wooden

A grizzly bear that traveled through Sanders County paved the way for a newly formed group who is looking to help raise awareness and educate the community about a Sanders County wilderness area.

Wayne Kasworm is the grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Kasworm shared a story of a grizzly who had traveled through the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness area, down the east side of the Cabinets and across to Thompson River. The bear story peaked the interest of a group of Sanders County residents, who developed the idea to protect the wilderness area from Vermilion on the west end of Sanders County to the Thompson River area. “The bear showed us that these places function as a connected wilderness area,” said Doug Ferrell of Trout Creek. Thus, began the Cube Iron/Cataract Coalition (CICC).

“It seemed natural to see if we can organize and educate and inform the community,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell, a member of the CICC steering committee, noted that the bear that Kasworm studied only had to cross three roads in its journey: Highway 56, Vermilion Road and Graves Creek Road. He said this was an “ah ha” moment for the steering committee, who Ferrell said “don’t have a big agenda. We’re not looking at changing land uses from what they are. We’re interested in making sure it’s protected in its present condition.”

The CICC steering committee includes Ferrell, John Errecart, Mark Sheets, Zach Wipple-Kilmer and Chad Sivertsen. According to the steering committee, CICC “recommends no road closures anywhere in this area and little or no change to existing uses, as defined in current land management plans. We support a wide range of activities on our public lands, including active management on the majority of forests lands, especially productive timber lands. We support motorized recreation and trails for bicycles in many other areas, and we also believe that these uses are not compatible with some special areas of existing wild country.”

The CICC will present a Backcountry Tails and Trails event, free to the commnity, on Satruday, June 30, at the Clark Fork Valley Elks. Kasworm will talk about grizzlies, and Kylie Paul will speak on wildlife in the backcountry. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be free for the first 60 guests.