- About Us About the Society
- Science Exploring Wilderness Management
- Scientific Perspectives
- A Journey Into the Gros Ventre
- A Retrospective of the Olympic Wilderness and Wilderness Management, Part I
- A Retrospective of the Olympic Wilderness and Wilderness Management, Part II
- At the Intersection of Wilderness, Fire and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities in Wilderness Stewardship
- Breathe, Water. Breathe, Switchback. Breathe, Peak.
- Chair Dave Campbell on Wilderness Fire Science
- Christina Mills, Yellowstone Outdoor Recreation Planner
- Climate Change and Wilderness Areas
- Edward Abbey: Wilderness Firebrand
- Emerging Technologies in Wilderness DISCUSSION
- Howard Zahniser: Putting Ideas to Work
- Human Influence and Intervention
- Moose, Newts, Apple Trees and History
- Mountains Without Handrails: Wilderness Without Bikes
- Question: Everything
- SWS Board Member On the Public Lands Debate
- Solitude and Visitor Use
- Technology
- Tribute to Wilderness Leader Bob Lucas
- Value of the Land
- Wilderness Character: A Concept
- Wilderness in Fossil Ridge
- Wilderness Fellow Program
- Scientific Perspectives
- Stewardship Preparing and Convening the Stewards
- Education Teaching Wilderness Stewardship
- Membership Become A Member
Staff
Heather MacSlarrow, Executive DirectorHeather grew up in Northwest Washington and Hong Kong, both of which gave her an appreciation for wilderness and solitude. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, and from there embarked on a 10-year adventure in public land and Wilderness stewardship with conservation corps across the West from Arizona to Alaska. She worked with the Washington Conservation Corps, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps in Steamboat Springs, Montana Conservation Corps, Youth Corps of Southern Arizona, Southwest Conservation Corps in Tucson, and Southwest Conservation Corps in Salida. Her last position in corps was as the founder and Executive Director of the Southwest Conservation Corps in Salida, Colorado. Heather left corps work to pursue her Masters of Natural Resources through the University of Idaho and work with the Colorado Mountain Club as the Lands Director. Through these positions, Heather worked with many Wilderness Areas, including: Buffalo Peaks, Collegiate Peaks, Sangre de Cristo, Great Sand Dunes, Spanish Peaks, South San Juan, Weminuche, La Garita, Admiralty Island, Glacier Bay, Wrangell Saint Elias, Misty Fjords, Kenai, Organ Pipe, Chiricahua, Gila, Saguaro, Rincon Mountain, North and South Maricopa Mountains, Superstition, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, Selway Bitterroot, Rattlesnake, Mission Mountains, Bob Marshall, Mount Zirkel, and High Uintas.
Heather is highly dedicated to the professional stewardship and management of Wilderness. She sees this as the key to allowing Wilderness to do what Wilderness does best - facilitate life-changing experiences and maintain important ecological systems, both of which provide essential support for, and strengthen, our communities.
Kat Lyons, National Program Coordinator
Kat is a 2016 Smith College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science & Policy and a minor in Government. Experiencing the outdoors from a young age fostered her passion to protect public lands. Kat’s studies focus on the relationship between field work and policy on the local, regional and national level and how each of these perspectives contribute to the successful sustainability of our precious natural resources. Kat has a variety of experience in both field work and policy by working at the local and regional level with the Forest Service, at the regional level with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and at the national policy level as an intern with the Land & Water team for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Enthusiastic and passionate about field work and being able to experience the outdoors, she strives to understand how natural resource policy is developed and implemented and how science should contribute to ensuring that policy is based on a sound foundation.
Jacob Wall, Wilderness Character Monitoring Core Team Leader
Jacob is a 2016 Colby College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy and Geology. His environmental policy honor thesis researched deforestation in Ethiopia analyzing spatial, ecological, and socio-cultural factors. After graduating from college, Jacob worked in Yosemite National Park as a Student Conservation Association (SCA) intern. There he participated in vegetation restoration projects as well as developed habitat models for rare plant species in order to understand how climate change will impact future habitats. This past year Jacob worked as a Wilderness Fellow in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho where he gained an appreciation for solitude in one of the nation’s largest wilderness areas. In the future Jacob hopes to continue to use science and education to promote stewardship of natural areas. Aside from exploring wilderness areas Jacob enjoys skiing, reading, and cooking.
Michael Smith, Wilderness Character Monitoring Core Team Leader
Mike Smith received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Delaware in 2011 and a master’s degree in environmental science and management in 2016. During graduate school he specialized in conservation planning. He looks to use his Biology and Environmental Science degrees to pursue a career in conservation biology and management. Growing up in a heavily forested region of the mid-Hudson valley in upstate New York near the Catskill mountains he had the opportunity to experience the outdoors and found an appreciation for its value. Exploring the dense forests and being 15 to 20 minutes away from the nearest development allowed him to enjoy the woods with his dog.