October 9, 2001
Contact: Dawn Serra: 406.728.1170

Josh Burnim reached Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park near Nelson, British Columbia on October 7, exactly 5 months after he began hiking in Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains. Here he finished his 800-mile Sawtooths to Selkirks Hike, an effort to draw attention to the fragmented wildlands and the need for wildlife connecting corridors in southern British Columbia, Idaho and Montana.

Burnim's hike has taken him through some of the best country left in the U.S. for the survival of native wildlife species. "Wildlife, especially large mammals, needs connected areas of habitat to find ample food, establish home territories, mate and raise young," explains Burnim. "The areas I have traveled through, the Sawtooth Mountains, Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church River-of-No-Return Wilderness, Cove Mallard and Kelly Creek Roadless areas, Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and Selkirk Mountains offer some of the best and most remote wildlife habitat left." However, only if such areas are connected through corridors will wildlife continue to thrive for many generations. Otherwise, isolated populations may fall susceptible to threats such as inbreeding, disease, flood and fire.

During his Sawtooths to Selkirks Hike, Burnim has collected practical information to use in his graduate studies at the University of Montana. He has crossed 8 highways, 40 lesser roads, 7 National Forests, encountered approximately 100 other hikers, and seen evidence of illegal, damaging off-road vehicle use. Burnim and his 33 companions have heard a pack of wolves howling one afternoon in the Wild Clearwater Country, seen black bear, moose, elk, deer, osprey, eagles, hawks, grouse, rattlesnakes, and fresh cougar and grizzly bear tracks and scat.

Burnim set out to trace the route an elusive creature such as a lynx or wolverine might travel to see if wildlife corridors do exist in the practical sense. He found that in some cases several obstacles to safe passage exist, such as highways, heavily roaded and clearcut areas, and off-road vehicle use. However, Burnim says, "If we open our hearts to wildlife and decide to take action by preserving habitat, restoring damaged landscapes, and building effective overpasses for highways, the Yellowstone to Yukon region can hope to see healthy wildlife populations continuing to live alongside sustainable communities."

Another goal of Burnim's hike is to connect with people, especially those living in this region. "Many people here enjoy a unique quality of life by living close to wild places. It is important to make sure people understand that wildlife will only survive if we plan communities with their needs as well as our own in mind." Saving wildlife habitat preserves open space for humans, which is a source of recreation and solace for many, so by helping wildlife we also help people. Burnim has connected with others through public hikes along the route and this Web site, www.wildrockies.org/idahohike. He has scheduled a slide show tour following his hike and will present to conservation groups, members of the public, Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs, American Legion posts and schools.

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