Here at SWS, we call ourselves Wilderness Guardians. We have members across the country, and each and every one is a part of our Community of Practice. We are the "Watchers on the Wall" (if you're a Game of Thrones fan), or the "Fellowship of the Ring" (if you're a Lord of the Rings fan), or "Dumbledore's Army" (If you're a Harry Potter fan) or the people that make sure wilderness stays protected (if you don't go in for any of that other stuff).
Looking for a great way to support SWS and outfit yourself? Shop our store! We have a bunch of awesome finds that will keep you organized and warm whether you're in the backcountry or playing on the living room floor with your grandbabies. Check out the store here, or go directly to one of our collections: Vintage & Rare, Little One, Stickers & Stationary, and Tees & Hats. All goods made in the USA (except some of the Vintage & Rare, these items change and were not originally sourced by us).
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Picture yourself here, at the National Wilderness Workshop! Every fall we team up with the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance to put on the National Wilderness Workshop at locations around the country. We tackle emerging issues in wilderness with the newest research and best discussions. Save the date for our 2019 Workshop, which will take place in Bend, Oregon, from October 23 to 26. Our theme this year is around the nexxus of recreation and
The Wilderness Fellows program is SWS' premier vehicle to kill two birds with one stone - provide land management agencies with high-level, professional expertise on a variety of projects; and connect young professionals to the next step in their career. Fellows are placed around the country, and tackle tasks such as: wilderness character monitoring (compiling a report showing the health of a wilderness so that it can be managed to maintain that health), solitude monitoring (assessing whether a wilderness has opportunities for solitude), and recreation planning (permit analysis and impleme
A large part of designating a wilderness area is identifying it's boundaries. Will it go over or around this mountian? How close to this road or town? What habitat should it include? But as we all know, the boundaries we drawn on maps are human in nature - they do not dictate the ecological processes or start or end of habitat. And how an adjacent (or gateway) town functions affects nearby wildernesses. Noise and light pollution, recreation and incursion, loss of biodiversity, heat emanating from blacktop.