How did you get involved with the National Bighorn Sheep Center (NBSC)? We saw the Center from the outside on one of our first trips to Dubois. I remember thinking, “How can a little tiny town like Dubois, with 900 people, have a national center dedicated to conservation, like the NBSC? Then Cindie [my wife] took our friends Alan and Levan, who were some of our first visitors in Dubois, over to the Center for a tour. I didn’t get to go with them because I was unpacking the U-Pak trailer. Then we met Kathy and Lary Treanor at church and Kathy talked us up about the NBSC. The rest is history.
What do you like most about being on the NBSC Board? I think what I like best about being on the Board is the diversity of the group. We have people from allbackgrounds. And all these diverse people are passionate about the wild places and wildlife that surrounds us.
What has been one of the most impactful experiences you have had in “wild spaces” and with wildlife? Why? Many years ago, Cindie and I were hiking up Cascade Canyon in the Tetons. I remember hearing these little “beep beep beeps” up in the rock fall. It turned out that there were Pika’s up there running around making all the racket. I remember wondering about how something so little and cute could survive in such a huge, rocky, and dangerous place like that canyon. I later found out that because of climate change, the areas where Pika’s can survive is changing. They are having to live higher up in the mountains then they used to. I felt then, and I still feel today, very responsible for doing that to the Pika’s. I want to make their lives better, not worse. They are my buddies.
To you, why is conservation education important? And how do you see us ‘moving the needle’ around “wild sheep, wildlife, and wild spaces” conservation?
I think the most important thing to remember is that we can make this better, we can fix this. With all this bad stuff happening because of climate change, it’s easy to lose faith. But we humans are capable of so much. We can and we will fix all the hurt we have inflicted on our planet. We just never know how it’s going to turn out, but we must know that it will turn out perfectly.
What advice do you have for the next generation looking to get involved in conservation? Don’t give up on conservation. It will be hard work and you might not see how it will get better. But it will getbetter, and you will have a hand in making things better.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us about yourself and your journey towards conservation? I love looking at pictures of our planet taken from outer space. All my life I’ve always drawn pictures and have always wanted to be an astronaut. I might not make it to space, but I’ve seen pictures. I know that things need to be fixed and they will be, we will do it. Just like we put people on the moon, we will solve this climate crisis and we will help the Bighorn Sheep rebound.November 2021
