Pam Nelson of Riverside County, California is being honored by the Campaign for America's Wilderness and The Wilderness Society as a "Wilderness Hero" for her efforts to protect Beauty Mountain.
The newly designated Beauty Mountain Wilderness comprises 15,621 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands in Riverside County. The area consists of a series of steep mountains, twisted canyons, stream beds and the 5,548 foot Beauty Mountain. The encroaching sprawl of rapidly urbanizing local towns threatens the ecological stability of the area, as well as the endangered coastal sage scrub of the Coast Range to the West. Pam Nelson, a longtime resident of the area, has been one of its most ardent and vocal defenders.
"I've been an environmentalist since I was a kid," Nelson, a third generation Californian, says. I was constantly "worrying about who would protect the California wildlife." As a child, Nelson would wander all over the Irvine Ranch near her home, exploring the wild places. In college at UCLA and UC Irvine, Nelson majored in science in order to pursue her interest in conservation, but it was Beauty Mountain's unique wild lands that captured her attention.
After moving to land adjacent to the Beauty Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Nelson's longtime interest in conservation solidified into grassroots activism. "I have a special love for southern California wilderness because of the diversity, the fragility of it," she says. She began calling local organizations, asking them how to protect the Beauty Mountain Area. Holly Owens, an organizer of the California Wild Heritage Campaign, heard about Pam from local wilderness organizations, and invited her to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with Members of Congress about her beloved area. "It was a great experience for Pam," Owens said.
Nelson's enthusiasm for conserving Beauty Mountain is also about the people with whom she works. "I am thrilled there is a dedicated group of people and organizations working on this effort. Meeting and communicating with this group has been fabulous, and given me hope," says Nelson.
This enthusiasm goes both ways. "Pam Nelson is a tireless advocate for protecting wilderness near her home in Southern California," says Sam Goldman, the California Wilderness Coordinator of the Wilderness Society. "She is a dedicated community leader who knows the land, her community, and is passionate abut bringing protections to these beautiful landscapes."
Nelson's motive for working to conserve California's natural treasures is her love for the land surrounding her. "As a Californian, I have seen these special places graded and covered with houses and strip malls. Those very places I worried about as a child are long gone. I need to stand firm and do my best to help set aside these remaining places so that California will still exist. This will always be my focus - protecting the California environment."
The Wilderness Hero program highlights the work of everyday Americans making a difference in the effort to protect some of the nation's last wild places for future generations to enjoy.
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