All I can say is climbing the corporate ladder gave me no peace, and these days I stick to the peaceful climb up a mountain," Pamela White, 2003.
Pamela White always had a love of America's wild lands, and she ultimately put her passion to work in 2003 when she went to work for Friends of Nevada Wilderness in Ely, NV. There, she was the rural organizer and leader for a Nevada Wilderness Coalition effort to protect the last remaining wild lands in White Pine County as wilderness.
Her commitment to wilderness was shaped by her understanding of and concern for local interests. She began serving on the county's Public Land Users Advisory Council and helped negotiate an agreement between local ranchers and conservationists on proposed wilderness boundaries for the Schell Creek Range. She worked closely with the staff at the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, landowners, recreationists, and other users of public lands.
"Pam's work and leadership in White Pine County was instrumental in our efforts to protect more of Nevada's wilderness," said Brian Beffort, conservation director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness. "Her spirit and enthusiasm will be sorely missed, but we will keep working to protect White Pine's wild places in her honor."
Stepping off the corporate ladder she climbed at Starbucks didn't mean Pam had more time on her hands. She served as a substitute teacher, a foster parent, and mother. As a Wyoming native, Pam sought out the city life in Chicago where she got a business degree in economics and eventually moved to California.
Still, Pam's love of the outdoors was instilled in her by her parents who took her backpacking at age six and taught her that one's way of life all depends on the balance of nature. She translated those lessons of her youth into reality in her work on wilderness.
"There comes a time when certain areas just need the protection of wilderness designation to ensure that there is nature left to preserve cultural resources, healthy watersheds, wildlife habitat and to provide recreation and a sense of solitude," Pam said in 2003 when joining Friends of Nevada Wilderness. "We're here to help solve problems if we can. Sometimes really trying to understand people's issues with wilderness can lead to creative solutions."
Pam was tragically killed September 30, 2005, in a car accident, after having just returned from a trip to Washington, DC where she met with her elected representatives in Congress and told them why she cared about wilderness. Upon learning of Pam's untimely death, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) honored her on the Senate floor. Following is his statement from October 4, 2005:
THE LIFE OF PAMELA WHITE
Statement by U.S. Senator Harry Reid
Mr. President, last summer, I came to the Senate floor to say a few words about the untimely death of a great wilderness advocate and friend named Sally Kabisch. I spoke then of how one person can and does make a difference.
It is with a heavy heart that I return today to honor another great Nevadan who died too young and in tragic fashion.
Pam White hailed from Wyoming, she spent time in California, but settled in Ely--in eastern Nevada--and became a great Nevadan. Just last Thursday, Pam joined me and Senator Ensign for breakfast here in the Capitol. She had traveled to advocate for wilderness in White Pine County, the place she called home.
Pam's enthusiasm and conviction were infectious. She worked doggedly to build support for wilderness in rural Nevada. She served on local committees and advisory groups because she cared about the management and protection of our public lands. She deserves credit for depoliticizing the wilderness debate in eastern Nevada. She also deserves credit for supporting economic development in her adopted home town of Ely.
What I also appreciated about Pam was that she knew the importance of adoption. She adopted Nevada as her State, Ely as her home, and a young boy named Connor as her son.
Connor White has been dealt some tough cards in his life. His birth parents had serious drug problems and he ended up in foster care. Pam White became his advocate, his protector, and his mother. It takes a special person to care for a special needs child. Pam was a special person who cared. It takes an angel to adopt a special needs child.
The day after I saw Pam last week, she died in a single car crash between Ely and Elko. Pam was and is an angel. As Pam's parents, friends, family, and community rally to remember her life, Connor's future will be their focus. Pam would have wanted it to be so because she knew that affecting the lives of children is the best difference we can make.
