On June 4, Wilderness Watch sent the U.S. Forest Service a letter urging the strongest possible penalties against the pilot and passenger of a helicopter that illegally landed in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in northwestern Montana so the couple could go fishing. The Bob Marshall is considered one of the “crown jewels” of the Wilderness system, and it provides refuge to native wildlife such as grizzly and black bears, lynx, wolverines, gray wolves, moose, mountain lions, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep. On May 16, two people on horseback reported encountering a helicopter and its occupants on the banks of the South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The Forest Service is currently investigating the helicopter landing by former NYC banking executive Sara Schwerin and her husband, Sam Schwerin, of Bozeman, Montana, who the horsemen found fishing on a sandbar. When confronted by the horsemen for their illegal Wilderness landing, the Schwerins reportedly claimed it was okay for them to land their helicopter “below the high water line.” They later issued an “apology” through a public relations firm. Using motor vehicles in Wilderness violates one of the fundamental tenets of the Wilderness Act. In our letter to Region 1 Regional Forester Leanne Marten, we called on the Forest Service to work with the FAA in the investigation and prosecution and, if possible, confiscate the helicopter and revoke the pilot’s license. There are rumors circulating that the Forest Service is not going to cite the pilot, despite the egregiousness of the action and the disdain it shows for the sanctity of Wilderness. The sense of privilege and entitlement displayed by the helicoptering couple argues for the strongest possible punishment, and the penalty must serve as a deterrent to others who would contemplate a similar escapade in the Bob or other Wildernesses. • Read Wilderness Watch's letter • Read more in a news article |
