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Community Celebrates 50th Anniversary Of San Rafael Wilderness
October 18, 2018 @ 7:00 am PDT
Source: Los Padres Forest Watch
The public is invited to two community events commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the San Rafael Wilderness, the largest permanently protected open space in Santa Barbara County. Both events feature famed wilderness legend Dr. Rupert Cutler, who worked closely with local residents to formally establish the San Rafael as a wilderness area in 1968 along with many other conservation achievements over the course of his career.
The San Rafael Wilderness was the first citizen-driven wilderness initiative following passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Thanks to the work of Dr. Cutler and local residents like Dick Smith and Robert Easton, the wilderness area was significantly expanded beyond the Forest Service’s initial proposal. The effort continues to serve as a model for wilderness campaigns throughout the country.
50TH BIRTHDAY BASH FOR THE SAN RAFAEL WILDERNESS
Thursday, October 18 from 7 – 9:30 pm
Club & Guest House at UCSB
Tickets: $10 at LPFW.org/SanRaf50 or call Bryant at (805) 617-4610 x3
On Thursday, October 18, Dr. Cutler will present an exciting and informative 40-minute retrospective on how the San Rafael Wilderness became the first citizen-driven wilderness proposal in the nation. As Assistant Executive Director of The Wilderness Society in Washington DC, Dr. Cutler worked closely with local residents to ensure that the San Rafael Wilderness Act was approved in Congress and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The evening begins with a reception featuring beer from Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. and local wine and appetizers on a terrace overlooking the campus lagoon.
PRESENTATION OF THE WILDERNESS LEGACY AWARD
SANTA BARBARA WILD!: A BENEFIT FOR LOS PADRES FORESTWATCH
Sunday, October 21 from 3 – 6:30pm
Garden Street Academy Playing Fields, 2300 Garden Street
Tickets: $125 (includes farm-to-table dinner, local beer and biodynamic wines) at SBwild.org or call Cynthia at (805) 617-4610 x5
The celebration continues on Sunday, October 21 at the 4th Annual Santa Barbara WILD!, a benefit for Los Padres ForestWatch. The event features an organic and sustainably-sourced farm-to-table dinner, a silent and live auction, the unveiling of a giant six-by-eight-foot painting of the San Rafael Wilderness by local artist Chris Potter, live Mediterranean-inspired music by Chris Fossek, and the presentation of our annual Wilderness Legacy Award to Dr. Rupert Cutler. The event is emceed by Geoff Green. Santa Barbara WILD! proceeds support the protection of wildlife habitat and open space throughout the Los Padres National Forest. Visit SBwild.org for tickets, auction item descriptions, and more information.
About the San Rafael Wilderness
Some of the most remote, wild, and rugged landscapes of California’s central coast region are found in the backcountry of Santa Barbara in an area known as the San Rafael Wilderness. These lands, nestled deep within the San Rafael Mountains, were set aside by Congress in 1968, and today they remain permanently protected under the Wilderness Act for current and future generations to explore and enjoy.
The area earned national fame as the first primitive area to be formally protected as Wilderness. In the 1960s, local residents worked with members of Congress and conservation groups in Washington DC to secure the strongest protections possible for this iconic landscape, laying the groundwork for future citizen-based wilderness initiatives throughout the country.
Today, the San Rafael Wilderness is one of the crown jewels of the central coast, spanning more than 191,000 acres of some of our region’s most remote and wild landscapes. It includes such notable landmarks as Hurricane Deck, Sisquoc River, Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary, and Manzana Creek, along with a rich assemblage of Native American rock art sites.
Read more about the 1960s campaign to protect the San Rafael Wilderness.
About Rupert Cutler
As the Assistant Executive Director for The Wilderness Society in the 1960s, Rupert Cutler was instrumental in working with local residents throughout Santa Barbara County to secure passage of the San Rafael Wilderness Act. Signed into law in 1968 and celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, the San Rafael Wilderness was the first citizen-driven wilderness campaign and still serves as a model for how local residents can join together to preserve wilderness lands for current and future generations to enjoy.
After obtaining his Ph.D. degree in 1972 he joined the Michigan State University faculty as assistant professor of resource development and extension specialist in natural resources policy. In 1977, President Carter appointed him assistant secretary of agriculture for conservation, research, and education. His initiatives as assistant secretary included a review of the entire national forest system for wilderness opportunities.
Dr. Cutler went on to serve as senior vice president of the National Audubon Society and president/CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. Rupert Cutler now resides in Roanoke, Virginia, where he has served as founding executive director of both Virginia’s Explore Park and the Western Virginia Land Trust, now the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy. Since retiring in 1999 he has served on several nonprofit agency boards and citizen advisory committees, including six years on the Roanoke City Council and eight years as an appointee of Governors Warner and Kaine on the board of trustees of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.