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Our Accomplishments Take Action
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About Our Board of Directors Harry Reid pays high praise to four Friends of Nevada Wilderness board members: Marge Sill, John Hiatt, Hermi Hiatt and Roger Scholl (click the link to read the PDF document). Roger Scholl, State Chair / Founding Board Member
Take a look at Roger's video: for future generations. 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 1989. Hermi Hiatt, Southern Nevada Vice 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. 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. Larry Dwyer, Treasurer
Larry, with a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Nevada, spent most of his career developing human and veterinary diagnostic tests. He has also worked with an environmental analytical laboratory and a solar installation company. Now, fully retired from regular work, he wants to spend more time helping Friends preserve and protect wilderness. John Hiatt, Issues Chair
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. Meghan Wolf, Secretary
Meghan brings an eclectic background to Friends' board. Prior to her current position as Assistant Manager at Patagonia's Reno outlet store, Meghan traveled widely and taught English to inter-generational, multi-cultural communities in far-flung locales like the Czech Republic and Turkey. She also has worked in corporate and media communications. 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. Bart Patterson, Board Member
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. 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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 Black Canyon Wilderness by kayak © Brian Beffort
"Wilderness is disappearing like a snow bank in the hot August sun." - Robert Marshall |
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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.
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.
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.
Wilderness has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up on the
slopes of Mt. Tamalpais, I considered the entire mountain to be part of my own personal
"backyard," and, as a student at UNR, I began to explore Nevada's vast
variety of unspoiled wilderness. Over the last several years, I learned of the amazing
work Friends is doing to turn these areas into designated wilderness so they'll
be protected in perpetuity.
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.
I
learned to love the outdoors growing up in North Carolina hiking, climbing trees
and swimming in lakes, rivers and oceans. There was always an inner urge for me to
move west. Nevada's wide open spaces, beautiful, rugged landscape and sparkling
desert air touched every nerve in me on my first visit to Nevada and the Black Rock
desert on a restoration trip.
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.
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 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.