Regional Foresters, Station Directors, Area Director, IITF Director, Deputy Chiefs and 2

WO Directors

File Code: / 2320/6140 / Date: / January 29, 2014
Route To:
Subject: / 2014 National Wilderness Leadership Training
To: / Regional Foresters, Station Directors, Area Director, IITF Director, Deputy Chiefs and WO Directors
OPTIONAL REPLY DUE MARCH 5, 2014

The Forest Service has deep roots in the conservation movement that led to the Wilderness Act and has always been a global leader in wilderness stewardship. With the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the end of the Chief’s 10-Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge fast approaching, the time is right to honor the Agency’s wilderness legacy and renew its commitment to wilderness stewardship.

Increasing and unprecedented threats to wilderness represent new stewardship challenges that re-emphasize the Agency’s need for a level of wilderness awareness sufficient to promote decisions that satisfy the law by preserving wilderness character. Yet, only half of all current Forest Service line officers with wilderness stewardship responsibilities have received wilderness stewardship training.

To close the line officer training gap, we have developed a training initiative intended to inspire leadership to: 1) honor the promise made to present and future generations of the Americans to secure the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness, and 2) build a level of wilderness awareness sufficient to promote decisions that preserve wilderness character and maintain the integrity of America’s National Wilderness Preservation System.

The National Wilderness Leadership Training Course conducted by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center in Missoula, Montana, June 23-28, 2014, is an integral part of closing this gap. The course emphasis is on interpreting and applying the 1964 Wilderness Act, agency policy, and wilderness management principles to on-the-ground decisions. Current, and participant-provided, wilderness stewardship case studies make for an interactive, challenging, and realistic session.

The course target audience includes senior level line officers and managers from each of the four wilderness managing agencies: the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service. Participants may also include managers from other agencies. Upon completion of this course participants will be able to: (1) interpret and translate the 1964 Wilderness Act, agency policy and wilderness management principles; (2) apply decision-making skills and knowledge of law and agency policy to real wilderness management issues; and, (3) describe characteristics and consequences of making decisions that ensure an enduring resource of wilderness.

Course registration and check-in is Monday, June 23, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at a local hotel in (Missoula, Whitefish/Kalispell or Great Falls) Montana. Classroom instruction and presentations begin Monday evening, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. The course includes a mandatory 3-day, 2-night field trip into one of Montana's wildernesses. Participants depart for their field trip Thursday morning, June 26, between 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. and return late Saturday afternoon, June 28. Following final activities and speakers, the course concludes Saturday, June 28 at 8:00 p.m. Course tuition is $425. Participants are responsible for their travel and per diem. Those selected will be notified by mid-March.

Individuals interested in attending the training course are asked to contact their regional wilderness program manager. Regions are asked to send a prioritized list of nominees with contact information to Ken Straley, at , or fax to (406) 243-4717, or mail to the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, 32 Campus Drive #3168, Missoula, MT 59812, no later than March 5, 2014.

If you have questions, please contact Ken Straley at (406) 243-4630, or Elwood York at

(202) 205-1228.

/s/ Leslie A. C. Weldon
LESLIE A. C. WELDON
Deputy Chief, National Forest System