Protecting the slopes of Colorado’s Mount Champion

May 15, 2026-

The Trust recently completed the transfer of 194 acres on the slopes of Mount Champion, just outside the Mount Massive Wilderness, to the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado.

The Champion Mine South property, which stretches from the North Fork of Lake Creek almost to the summit of Mount Champion, includes remnants of the Champion Mine which was active from 1907-1940 mining gold, silver, copper, and lead. The property is being transferred to public ownership in two phases— this first 194-acre phase, and a second 40-acre phase that will follow at a later date.

Along with the remnants of Champion Mine, a mill site where ore was processed was also located on the 40-acre portion of the property that will transfer later. The 50-ton mill used mercury to dissolve gold from ore that was pulled from the mine and crushed, resulting in a denser material that could more easily be separated from the remaining ore. It was then heated to distill off the mercury for reuse, leaving behind gold particles. This process commonly resulted in waste tailings contaminated with heavy metals.

Last year the Trust completed extensive environmental testing for mercury and other heavy metals on the property in partnership with the EPA-led Mixed Ownership Group, which consists of federal and state agencies, local governments, and non-governmental organizations focused on completing assessments and remedial actions on abandoned mine lands throughout Colorado. The testing all came back within safe levels, an important step to ensure the property is wilderness-ready before becoming public lands. With this due diligence completed, the second phase of the transfer is moving forward.

Collecting samples on the property with members of the EPA-led Mixed Ownership Group.

The property was generously donated to the Trust in 2023 by local landowner Amy Margerum Berg: “My late husband, Charles “Chuck” McLean, had the foresight to purchase these mining claims with the intent of protecting them from development. My son, Slater McLean, and I are so proud to be donating this land in his honor. He loved this land more than anything and spent hours exploring and hiking every inch of this spectacular backcountry wilderness. He would be very happy to know that the land will now be protected forever.”

The popular North Fork Lake Creek Trail leads hikers, backpackers, and horsemen into the 30,000-acre Mount Massive Wilderness and runs through the base of the Champion Mine South property. Protecting the property under public ownership ensures public access on the trail and mitigates the management and liability concerns that have recently cut off access to several of Colorado’s 14ers. The project also protects important wildlife habitat, spanning from streamside riparian zones to alpine meadows above treeline, and is home to bighorn sheep.

Alaska’s Chuck River Wilderness grows with 28-acre transfer

April 20, 2026-

In Southeast Alaska, the Tongass National Forest covers almost 17 million acres of coastline and temperate rainforest. It is the nation’s largest national forest, and about 35% of it is designated as wilderness in 19 wilderness areas.

Within it, the Trust recently transferred our 28-acre Chuck River Bend property to public ownership to be added to the Chuck River Wilderness.

The property, accessible by boat only at high tide, sits where the Chuck River flows into Windham Bay. Its open meadows are prime pink salmon fishing grounds for Alaskan brown bear, and also have blueberries, salmon berries, and devil’s club, which are other important food sources for bears.

Chuck River Bend is the third property the Trust has protected as wilderness in the Tongass National Forest since we began working in Alaska in 2017.

Learn more about our recent Alaska projects in this virtual site visit video from a few summers ago.

 

Join our Team: Director of Major Gifts

April 13, 2026-

We’re Hiring a Director of Major Gifts!

The Wilderness Land Trust seeks a fundraising professional with proven major gifts experience to serve as Director of Major Gifts on a part-time (0.5 FTE) basis. This is a permanent, ongoing position—not a limited contract. The Trust is looking for someone with a deep understanding of nonprofit development, a commitment to building meaningful relationships with donors, a multi-year track record of successful fundraising, the courage and confidence to make in-person solicitations for meaningful gifts, and strong alignment with the mission of wilderness conservation.

See the full job description for more information.

So long and happy trails to Liz!

April 3, 2026-

Next week we’re saying ‘so long’ to Liz, our Director of Philanthropy, and sending her off on her next adventure as she and her husband Todd retire to spend more time long-distance backpacking. Liz hopes to hike all 11 National Scenic Trails in ten years, starting with a return to the Continental Divide Trail, which she hiked in 2024.

Many of you who have had the opportunity to connect with Liz already know her passion for wild places and her belief in the power of community. Since joining the Trust, Liz has been an invaluable member of our team, putting that passion to work to help advance nearly every aspect of our fundraising work.

“Leaving the Wilderness Land Trust is bittersweet because the wilderness values that brought me here are the same ones that are calling me back to the trail. My time here has been a highlight of my career in philanthropy. I’m lucky to have been part of such a dedicated, expert, and kindhearted team, especially during a challenging time for public lands and conservation in general,” says Liz. “Day by day, year by year, the Trust’s staff, board members, donors, and partners are working together to add acres to protected wilderness, and lifting each other up while we do it. It’s hard to imagine a better day job.”

Spring Newsletter 2026 Crossword Answers

Join us in welcoming David Hartwell to our Board of Directors!

March 20, 2026-

Residing in Minnesota, David is semi-retired after a long stint in various manufacturing businesses, the longest being 27 years in the composites industry, where he built a company with manufacturing capacity of 50M square feet annually. He currently serves on numerous company boards and as an advisor to various businesses.

He also has extensive experience on non-profit, foundation, and governmental boards. He was the founding president of the Minnesota Land Trust and served on the Land Trust Alliance board in numerous capacities for 23 years. In 2000, he launched and then led an effort which resulted 8 years later in a constitutional amendment raising the sales tax in Minnesota that is now providing $450M annually for habitat, clean water, parks and cultural habitat. David graduated from the school of hard knocks, is married to Amy Hartwell, whom he travels extensively with, is an avid birdwatcher and gardener and has a blended family of 7 children, 8 grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

The Trust’s volunteer Board of Directors has 17 members, spread across the country. Their extensive and invaluable expertise help to steer the Trust’s work as our governing body. We look forward to all that David will bring to our Board!

Trail access, redwoods, and steelhead spawning grounds protected in California’s Central Coast

March 6, 2026-

Along California’s Central Coast, the Pacific Ocean meets mountains in one of the nation’s most significant biodiversity hotspots. Here, over 35 endangered species make their homes in the narrow canyons, chaparral, and old-growth forests. The Ventana Wilderness protects over 240,000 acres of this critical habitat. In 2020, a family wishing to see this landscape they love protected for future generations generously donated their 87-acre property to The Wilderness Land Trust. The Trust recently transferred the property, known as Little Sur River, to public ownership to be added to Los Padres National Forest.

The Little Sur River property sits between the Ventana Wilderness to the south and another section of Los Padres National Forest, which was previously landlocked by private property, to the north. Its transfer to public ownership has not only connected those two sections of public lands, it has also ensured public access on two trails running through the property

“Our gratitude goes out to the Wilderness Land Trust for leading the effort to add the Little Sur River parcel to our treasured public lands,” says Ventana Wilderness Alliance Executive Director, Carol Olson. “This transfer of private lands to public ownership advances our shared goal to protect wilderness values in the Big Sur backcountry.”

This transfer has also protected a tributary to the South Fork of the Little Sur River, the Central Coast’s most important and pristine spawning grounds for the threatened South-Central Coast steelhead trout. Today, only an estimated 100 fish return to the Little Sur River each year to spawn, making every foot protected of its sheltered cold water tributaries critical for their survival. The property is also home to an old-growth stand of coastal redwoods, which can grow to over 350 feet in height and live for 2,000 years.

This is the 7th property protected by the Trust in and around the Ventana Wilderness, totaling over 830 acres.

Washington’s Mt. Baker Wilderness grows with transfer of inholding property

February 20, 2026-

The Wilderness Land Trust recently completed the transfer of 21 acres within Washington’s Mount Baker Wilderness to public ownership, adding it to the designated wilderness area.

Within the Fourth of July Lode property, high in the alpine, sits one of the remaining 13 glaciers in the Mount Baker Wilderness. Glaciers across the North Cascades have been steadily losing volume over the last several decades. As glaciers shrink due to a changing climate, the ecosystems that depend on them become increasingly vulnerable. A study found the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest provides $30 billion worth of ecosystem services that we depend on, like the clean air and clean water which sustain life, and every dollar invested in the Forest returns over $3,000 in ecosystem services.

Removing this threat of development from the Fourth of July Lode property will not only yield returns for future generations through these ecosystem services, but also help bolster the resilience of the surrounding wilderness ecosystems by improving their connectivity.

The Trust first purchased the property from a private owner whose family it had been in since the early 1900s gold rush. Now that it has been transferred to public ownership it is protected as designated wilderness, which enjoys the highest level of protection available to public lands that can only be altered by an act of Congress, not executive orders or other administration directives.

The Fourth of July Lode property is the 16th property the Trust has transferred to public ownership in Washington within the last year as part of our North Cascades campaign.

Mt. Shasta inholding protected

January 23, 2026-

The Wilderness Land Trust recently acquired a 1 acre inholding within the Mount Shasta Wilderness of northern California. You may be wondering why bother protecting one acre within the almost 37,000 acre wilderness area? But every inholding, no matter their size, is a tear in the fabric of wilderness protection.

The Mt. Shasta North property is home to an ancient lava flow from the still active volcano, and has sweeping views of the summit to the southeast and broad valleys to the west. Located only 1/4 mile off a trail, it had been purchased by the previous landowner with the intention of building on it. Now that the property has been protected, there are only three inholdings left within the Mt. Shasta Wilderness, making this acquisition a meaningful step toward completing the wilderness area.

Once the property is transferred to public ownership and added to the designated wilderness, we’ll have mended the tear, removing the gap in habitat connectivity and making the fabric of wilderness as whole stronger than before.

Saying farewell to Brad Borst

January 23, 2026-

Next week we’ll be saying farewell to Brad Borst after 9 years serving as the Trust’s president. If you’ve had the good fortune to interact directly with Brad during his tenure, you’ll know how dedicated, thoughtful, humble, and kind he is, and it will likely come as no surprise that he’d rather focus on the exciting next chapter for the Trust under Anders Reynolds’ leadership than have a fuss over him. But we’d be remiss to let him go without celebrating him and acknowledging all he’s given to the Trust.

“Brad’s steady leadership and unwavering dedication to the Trust have left a lasting imprint on both our organization and our mission. Under his guidance, the organization has matured into a resilient, sustainable institution, one that is equipped to remain relevant in the face of rapid ecological, climatic, and political change. Thank you, Brad, for keeping the promise of wilderness in your heart and in your hands. Happy trails,” says Trust board chair Sarah Chase Shaw.

Brad has helped to grow the Trust, adding new staff capacity, expanding our work east of the Rockies, and building new funding relationships to make our work possible. He has steadily guided the organization through the uncertainties of the pandemic and shifting administration priorities. Brad has created and nurtured a culture at the Trust that is truly a joy to be a part of, where staff are supported and cared for— he is the rare kind of leader who is wholeheartedly dedicated to serving those around him.

We are so grateful for Brad’s dedication and the opportunity to work alongside him. Join us in wishing Brad the best in wherever the trail takes him next!