Local wins national wilderness award
In November 2021, Andrew “Andy” Smith of Idyllwild has received the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance (NWSA) Agency Partnership Award.
PHOTO BY ANDY SMITH
The award, according to the NWSA website, is “to recognize an agency employee or unit which has demonstrated outstanding ability to work with wilderness stewardship organizations to improve the stewardship of their wilderness areas.”
Anitra Kass, Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) Southern Regional representative, nominated Smith for the award. In 2019, Smith won the PCTA’s Agency Partner Employee Award.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Andy Smith for my entire tenure on PCTA staff first when he was the wilderness/trails staff for the San Jacinto Ranger District-San Bernardino National Forest [SBNF] and now as the recreation officer for that unit. He has always been helpful, supportive and collaborative in his approach to getting work done.
“For the PCT, he coordinates with multiple volunteer groups including the PCTA, [Backcountry Horsemen of California (BCHC) Redshank Riders Unit] and Forest Service Volunteer Association (FSVA). He is the driving force for getting work done on the PCT on the San Jacinto Ranger District.
“However, in recent years he has out done himself with his dedication to getting the Mountain Fire, Cranston Fire areas rehabbed and reopened. He formulated a phased approach for our work plan, did significant advanced scouting, met with the AmeriCorps Crews on most every hitch, provided support for our spike camp pack-ins, pursued additional Forest Service funding to make sure we had adequate AmeriCorps Crew funding to complete the work on the trail and saw to all of the other details needed to sustain long-term, backcountry crew work. He has been operating to this unparalleled standard since the fire was contained, in 2013. After [five] years of diligence, all his efforts have paid off as the area is now open.”
She added that he arranged for post-fire storm proofing after the Storm Fire’s damage. “The Mountain, Cranston and Snow fires impacted the PCT significantly and much of the impact occurred in wilderness.”
Smith received the award at the National Wilderness Conference’s virtual presentation Nov. 19. In his speech, he said, “I’m more then honored for this award. Wilderness protection for forthcoming generations has always been my passion and urban interface/wilderness education is more important now then ever.
“I want to make note that advocacy, along with education, in wilderness stewardship involvement goes a long way for wilderness protection. This is the new normal: public stewardship in protecting wilderness resources.
“I encourage all of our wilderness managers, agency wide, to reach out to the masses of our public that are ready and willing to assist in keeping our public lands wild, as they should be.”
Kass said Smith’s volunteers describe him as “the one constant we can turn to” and “no matter what the job is, [he] will be there to help in any way he can.”
She said a recent incident involved a large boulder following onto and blocking a trail “on an iconic section of the PCT known as the Desert Divide … After much effort, there was no way for human power, even with mechanical advantage and levers, to move this rock out of the trail.”
He coordinated getting an American Conservation Experience crew (AmeriCorps) to a spike (temporary) camp and a U.S. Forest Service (USFS)-certified blaster to drive eight hours to the SBNF to rid the rock “using the minimum tool available and all other wilderness considerations.” Smith’s coordination efforts included not only the local USFS and the AmeriCorps crew, but the USFS PCT administrator, PCTA, the BCHC Redshank Riders Unit and the FSVA. For before and after pictures, and a video link, visit www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sbnf/home/?cid=FSEPRD929817&fbclid=IwAR3Em6hpSFFf7hZF6-9no9vwsa1G5KpLlRzZB329XvR8cfXDus4YRzzyJmM.
