Marilyn moved to Ukiah when she was six, and grew up on horseback. “The only extra activity I was a part of in high school was the rifle club.” After graduating, she and her husband Gene enjoyed hunting, fishing, and riding in the land around Ukiah. When it became too roaded and heavily logged, they began packing into the Minam instead. It was then she learned that the Minam timber was up for sale, too.
Rather than losing hope, Marilyn dove head-first into the “Save the Minam!” movement, working alongside other local activists in their long battle to protect the Minam as wilderness. After the Minam was successfully incorporated into the Eagle Cap Wilderness, she continued working with The Wilderness Society, Maintain Eastern Oregon Wilderness, and the Umatilla Conservation Council, fighting to protect many of the lands we enjoy as Wilderness today: the North Fork John Day, the North Fork Umatilla, and the Wenaha-Tucannon, to name a few.
“The original Earth Day and fighting for the Minam changed my life,” Marilyn says. “They brought me out of my little shell, and into an entire era of my life.”
What concerns Marilyn these days? “It was a miracle we were able to save the Minam, but it will be more of a miracle to keep it. We have to get the young involved in conservation.” She’s also very worried by the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act. (See our “Facts that Count” section.)
Thank you Marilyn for all of your hard work on behalf of our treasured wild places!
