Sawtooth association notes 50th anniversary

The association formed “to gather information, objects and materials relative” to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area’s “history and development; to carry out educational programs concerning the region, to assist or advance historical, scientific, educational or interpretive programs or publications related to the” recreation area and its nearby forests, association Executive Director Lin Gray said.

In the first decade of its existence, the association began planning to preserve the Valley Creek Ranger Station, which today houses the Stanley Museum.

Today the Sawtooth association manages 11 bookstores inside ranger stations, where maps, field guides and educational materials are sold. It also operates the Redfish Lake visitor center and gallery and the Stanley Museum. Both sites are open from mid-June through Labor Day and about 16,000 people visit them each summer, Gray said.

College interns work for the association each summer, staffing trailheads where they educate people about leave no trace practices. Those students also staff the museum and visitor center.

A fundraiser to support the association’s missions for the next 50 years is underway. For $105 people can buy a ticket for a drawing for a two-person Middle Fork Salmon River raft trip with Hughes River Expeditions. The trip can be taken in either 2023 or 2024, Gray said. Only 200 tickets will be sold. Tickets can be purchased online at discoversawtooth.org/2022-drawing, or in person at the Stanley Ranger Station or the SNRA headquarters.