Sadly, we missed the chance to celebrate one of America's greatest wilderness heroes, Karen Fant, before her death last summer at age 57. As you see from her photo, Karen always had a winning smile: winning for wilderness was a central part of her life.
For 35 years, Karen was a driving force for the preservation of wilderness in Washington State. We met in 1970 in her native California, where her very special gifts as a grassroots organizer were instantly apparent. Trained as a geologist, her love of the wild was a product of childhood hiking and packing trips in the high Sierra with her family.
Karen moved to Seattle in 1971, working with the Sierra Club on citizen inventories of Washington's national forest roadless areas. In short order, she was at the center of wilderness action. While she was devoted to Washington's wilds, she also had a special passion for Alaska, playing a vital role in grassroots organizing in the epochal campaign for the 1980 Alaska Lands Act. Decade after decade, she remained a central part of the Alaska Coalition's national campaign to protect the Arctic Refuge coastal plain from oil development.
In 1979, Karen joined fellow activist Ken Gersten and others to found the Washington Wilderness Coalition. They envisioned WWC as an organization that would help strengthen independent grassroots organizations working for wilderness protection, particularly outside the Seattle area-or get them going where they did not exist. She and Ken became the co-directors, with Karen taking on the organizing duties in rural Eastern Washington ... because she was the one with a car.
Karen's work with grassroots organizations across the state was instrumental in the success of the historic Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984, extending Wilderness Act protection to more than one million acres. Though pleased with that result, she knew millions of acres of wild lands remained unprotected, and that many local people wanted to see these areas preserved by law. For Karen, a victory party was primarily about getting organized for the next effort. From the outset, she was a central figure in the continuing campaign to complete Congressional action for the proposed Wild Sky Wilderness.
At strategy meetings, when the rest of us had wandered deep into the tall weeds of detail and debate, she invariably got straight to the heart of the matter, reminding the rest of us of our original goals and the vital role of grassroots organizing. While Karen had particular affection for WWC, she did not get bogged down in "organizational ego," her unfailing instinct led her to where the action was. And, if there was not enough action to suit her, she'd stir it up. Karen convinced many in our overly cynical society that one individual really could make a difference. It was truly something to see her in action-effervescent, enthusiastic, lighting up the whole effort with that great smile.
Karen knew her way around the halls of Congress, but was happiest encouraging more and more people with the vital groundwork-organizing field inventories as the basis for highly credible citizen wilderness proposals, encouraging yet another new grassroots organization, and not only organizing yet another phonebank, but joyfully participating right along with everyone in the calling. Karen had the nicest way of wheedling you to join up for another long evening of phonebanking-and you simply did not say "no"!
In these remembrances from some of her legions of friends, you will sense the lessons of wilderness activism that are Karen's lasting legacy:
Karen was just always there, for whatever wild land cause needed help. It is unimaginable that she will not be there in the future, except in spirit.
JON SOEST, FORMER WWC BOARD MEMBER
Karen had a conviction that the only way to win lasting protection of our endangered wild places was local organizing. She always supported the local folks to do the advocacy. Of course, if things were not moving, Karen could push.
KEN GERSTEN, CO-FOUNDER, WWC
Karen always saw the potential in people to contribute and grow. She was an amazing organizer, comrade in arms, leader, coach and trainer, and friend to the breadth of the public lands advocacy community.
BILL ARTHUR, NORTHWEST REGIONAL OFFICE, SIERRA CLUB
Karen had an un-waivering faith in the power of ordinary people to affect extraordinary change in American politics. Her spirit, cheer and work ethic were inspirations to all of us who ever picked up a phone or knocked on a door in the name of wildlands conservation. When the odds seemed too great against us back in the days when I worked at WWC in Seattle, I almost left environmental advocacy for good. Karen convinced me to stay. She was a friend, a mentor and a personal hero to me and to many others, and she will be sorely missed.
JON OWEN, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS REP, CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S WILDERNESS
