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Our Accomplishments Take Action Wilderness Needs You!
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About Our Board of Directors Hermi Hiatt, State Chair
Hermi Hiatt, a volunteer with Friends of Nevada Wilderness since 1987, has been involved with almost every piece of wilderness legislation in the state. Her on-the-ground knowledge, mapping and inventory work especially in Clark County has had direct payoff with more areas protected as wilderness. Hermi is a professional plant ecologist who has worked extensively in the Mojave Desert and across the Great Basin. Her professionalism has brought a strong science-based component to Friends of Nevada Wilderness’ work. Hermi’s wealth of knowledge, big heart and willingness to volunteer have been instrumental to Friends’ success in conserving over three million acres of Nevada’s Wilderness. Roger Scholl, Northern Vice-Chair
As an avid outdoorsman Roger has explored most of Nevada's wild places - something he continues to do. Dr. Scholl served as Deputy Executive Director of the Wilderness Society in Washington D.C. for several years and was a founder of Friends of Nevada Wilderness. He has been a leader on Nevada wilderness issues since 1969 and was instrumental in the passage of the Nevada Wilderness Bill in l989. Bart Patterson, Southern Vice-Chair
Bart has always had a great love of the outdoors growing up in central Idaho along the Salmon River. This passion has continued with frequent hiking trips throughout Nevada and other western states. He was past president of the Arizona Heritage Alliance before moving to Nevada. An attorney, Bart is the Chief Counsel for Nevada System of Higher Education. Karen Boeger, Rural Vice-Chair/Founding Board Member
Karen, a retired school teacher and Nevadan "Desert Rat" and volunteer conservation activist for over 30 years, is a founding member of Friends Of Nevada Wilderness. Sarah Perrault, Secretary
Sarah is currently a PhD student at the University of Nevada, Reno, focusing on environmental rhetoric and rhetoric of science. At-large Peter Bradley, Board Member
Pete is a wildlife biologist stationed in Elko, where he works to protect populations of Nevada's wild birds, mammals and reptiles and their habitats. His expertise in wildlife is essential to showing the importance of wild places for protecting our wildlife populations. John Hiatt, Board Member
John Hiatt has been working on conservation issues primarily in southern Nevada for almost 30 years. He played a large part in wilderness protection for Forest Service lands in the 1980s and then focused his attention on BLM managed lands. He helped to both create and expand the Red Rock National Conservation Area outside of Las Vegas. John is well versed in Las Vegas civic affairs having served as a member and chairman of the Enterprise Town Advisory Board since 1979; served on the Las Vegas Valley Citizens Groundwater Management Advisory Committee since its inception in 1998; and served on the Integrated Joint Water Planning Citizens Advisory Committee. John is currently serving as chairman of the BLM's Resource Advisory Council for the Mojave-Southern Great Basin region. An organic chemist by training, with a Ph.D. from Yale University, John has been employed as a clinical and forensic chemist since 1973. John has been a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Nevada Wilderness since 1995 where his extensive knowledge of a broad array of subjects has been invaluable in steering Board policy. Kurt Kuznicki, Board Member
Kurt's love of the outdoors started at a young age on fishing trips to the High Sierra with his father; by high school Kurt was backpacking the John Muir Trail. Kurt likes to get his hands dirty with restoration efforts in the Black Rock Desert as well as leading Wilderness Values Outings and Leave No Trace "Train the Trainer" Trips to Nevada's pristine backcountry. Kurt is instrumental in getting folk out on the ground. Marge Sill, Founding Board Member
Marge is a full-time volunteer conservationist. Her particular interests are wilderness, national parks, national forests, and wild rivers. She worked for and helped make every acre of Nevada's 3.37 million acres of wilderness a reality. Marge is lovingly known as the Grandmother of Nevada Wilderness and is an inspiration for several generations of wilderness advocates.
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"Wilderness is disappearing like a snow bank in the hot August sun." - Robert Marshall |
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Coming
from Switzerland, a country where almost all landscapes below
timberline have been sculpted by man, I deeply appreciate wild
lands where man's hand is not much in evidence. Preservation of
unique habitats and open space for flora and fauna is very
important to me.
Thirty-five
years ago I wished Nevada, with millions of acres of largely
unrecognized wilderness, could have one full-time person working
to protect this legacy. Today I am filled with gratitude for the
marvelous staff of Friends of Nevada Wilderness and those who
support their work. It is deeply satisfying knowing dozens of
magnificent protected areas are home to countless fellow
creatures, hold answers to questions we have yet to ask, and
offer a taste of my early experiences of discovery to my family,
grandchildren and thousands of others.
Having
wilderness areas, including a number of areas close to a large
metropolitan area like Las Vegas, is critical to our quality of
life. There is always a feeling of serenity in spending time in
these unspoiled areas, and this is a value I want my children to
experience.
I
was so fortunate to grow up at a time when much of the west was
still wild and the dominant recreational uses were traditional:
hiking, fishing, hunting and horseback riding. Within a
generation, those opportunities have vastly diminished. I want
to do all that I can to ensure that my grandchildren and their
grandchildren will always have the same wilderness opportunities
and life benefits that I was able to enjoy.
I
love Nevada for its open space, clean air and water, geological
variety, and spectacular wilderness. We have a chance here in
Nevada to keep intact what other states are now struggling to
regain. I volunteer with FNW because we are helping keep Nevada
wild - and because the restoration trips are so much fun.
More
perhaps than food and water, music, the love of family and
wilderness are essential to my well-being. Without them, I
simply would shrivel up and blow away.
I
devote my time and energy working for wilderness preservation
because I greatly enjoy large open spaces which are not greatly
modified by man's activities. I also believe wilderness areas
are some of the best areas to view wildlife.
After
you have gone out, gotten dusty and fallen in love with Wild
Nevada, you then come to the realization that you have a
responsibility to preserve and protect her for future
generations.
I
have always been happiest when I could feel at one with the
natural world. I hope that wilderness and wild things will
always be a part of the life of my extended family for
generations to come.