FWP Outdoor Report Script
8/02/12
“BOB MARSHALL”
WINSTON GREELY: IN 1928, FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEE, BOB MARSHALL SET OUT NEAR KALISPELL FOR A HIKE. TODAY, MONTANA HERITAGE PROGRAM’S DAVE STAGLIANO IS FOLLOWING THE SAME ROUTE.
DAVID STAGLIANO: THERE’S A LOT OF BEFORE AND AFTER OF DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES THAT WE FOCUS ON, WHY NOT THE BOB? WHY NOT AN AREA THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE RECREATE IN AND CHERISH AND TURN IT INTO A LITTLE TRAIL MAP.
WINSTON GREELY: STAGLIANO IS FOLLOWING MARSHALLS ONLY DOCUMENTED ROUTE INTO THE BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS; A ROUND TRIP NEARLY 300 MILES THAT TOOK MARSHALL JUST 8 DAYS TO COMPLETE.
DAVID STAGLIANO: AND WE WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCES THAT WE DOCUMENT FROM WHAT BOB MARSHALL SAW IN 1928 WHEN HE DID THIS HIKE VERSUS WHAT WE ARE SEEING HERE IN 2012.
WINSTON GREELY: TODAY MARSHALL’S FIRST MAJOR CHANGE WOULD COME AT HUNGRY HORSE RESERVOIR, BUT AS ONE OF THE FIRST ADVOCATES FOR WILDERNESS, MARSHALL WOULD FIND THINGS MUCH THE SAME WHEN HE CROSSED INTO THE LAND THAT BEARS HIS NAME.
DAVID STAGLIANO: THAT ASPECT OF BEING OUT AND JUST BEING ABLE TO GO FOR MILES WITHOUT SEEING A HOUSE OR MOTORIZED VEHICLE, I DEFINITELY FEEL HIS LOVE OF THE WILDERNESS.
WINSTON GREELY: THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE SEEK THIS SENTIMENT IN THE BOB EACH YEAR, AND WHILE IT IS UNCLEAR HOW MARSHALL WOULD FEEL ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF WILDERNESS VISITORS. HE WAS A CHAMPION OF RECREATION AND BELIEVED WILDERNESS WAS ESSENTIAL TO ONES HAPPINESS.
DAVID STAGLIANO: HE REALLY WAS A FORERUNNER OF HIS TIME, BECAUSE THE FORESTERS DIDN’T CONSIDER RECREATION.
WINSTON GREELY: IF MARSHALL WERE ALIVE TODAY HE MAY FIND THE CHALLENGES TO WILDERNESS PROTECTION MUCH THE SAME AS IN HIS TIME, BUT HE ALSO WOULD FIND SOLACE IN THE LAND HE ONCE WALKED MORE THAN 80 YEARS AGO. WINSTON GREELY OUT AMONG MONTANA’S FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS.