board of directors
Kevin Proescholdt, Minnesota, President
Kevin guided Wilderness canoe trips for 10 years in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) in northeastern Minnesota. During that time, he became involved in the national effort to save the BWCA as Wilderness, and helped pass a new law to do so in 1978. Kevin co-authored the definitive history of that effort in his 1995 book, Troubled Waters: The Fight for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He directed the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness for 16 years, working on a wide variety of legislative and wilderness stewardship issues. He now works as the Midwest Director for Wilderness and Public Lands for the Izaak Walton League of America.
Jon Dettmann, Minnesota, Vice-President
Jon is an attorney with the Minneapolis firm of Faegre & Benson, where he is a partner in the firm's regulatory litigation group. Jon has represented several public interest clients in public lands and wildlife issues nationwide. His cases include the 11th Circuit's recent decision in Wilderness Watch v. Mainella, which found that public motorized vehicle tours through wilderness areas on the Cumberland Island National Seashore were unlawful. He also represented Defenders of Wildlife in a successful appeal upholding the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park, and currently represents The Wilderness Society in a case involving wilderness review and planning in over a dozen units of the National Park System.
Francis Mauer, Alaska, Secretary
Fran worked as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge for over 20 years. An outspoken proponent of Wilderness, Fran’s writings have appeared in various media sources and publications opposing proposed oil development in the Arctic Refuge. Fran is the Representative of Wilderness Watch’s new Alaska Chapter.
Bill Worf, Montana, Treasurer
Co-founder of Wilderness Watch, Bill was on the Forest Service task force that in 1965 wrote the regulations for implementing the newly passed 1964 Wilderness Act. Bill became the Forest Service’s first Wilderness Program leader, a position he held until 1969 when he transferred to Missoula, Montana where he served as Regional Director for Wilderness, Recreation and Lands. Bill served on the Commission On Ecology for the International Union for Conservation of Nature from 1978 through 1988.
Stewart Brandborg, Montana
Executive Director of The Wilderness Society from 1964-1976, Stewart has had a long and distinguished career with a number of environmental and conservation organizations. He has also worked in the field conducting groundbreaking wildlife and wild lands research for state and federal land management agencies.
Roberta Cross Guns, Montana
Joe Fontaine, California
Joe is a retired High School Science teacher living near Tehachapi California with his wife Bugs.
Joe has benn a volunteer environmental activist for the Sierra Club for over 40 years. Main issues have been Wilderness, national parks, and public lands management in general. He served 13 years on the Sierra Club Board of Directors and two years as the national president.
He likewise served several years on the Board of Wilderness Watch with two years as president.
Current activities include chairing the Sierra Club Yosemite Committee, member of the Sierra Club Sequoia Task Force that works on issues in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park and the Giant Sequoia National Monument, member of the Sierra Club Wild Planet Strategy Team, and a member of the Sierra Club Foundation Board of Trustees. Joe is working to help pass good, clean, strong wilderness bills in the Sierra Nevada currently before Congress.
Louise Lasley, Wyoming
Louise is dedicated to backcountry pursuits; skiing, boating, and hiking. These activities have produced a strong advocacy for wilderness and the values we find in wild places, and have directed years of work to protect those values across the globe. Whether in the field or at the board table, Louise has been involved in efforts to protect pronghorn migrations, rainforests from logging and wildlife poaching, and providing the scientific research to guide conservation solutions. Having worked as a geologist and an educator in the past, Louise is currently Public Lands Director for the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Jackson, Wyoming.