Festival draws 2,000
More than 2,000 people made the pilgrimage to Brimful Lake, high in the Stein alpine for a wilderness festival on the August 1, 1987 weekend. Almost 2 km above sea level, their "Voices for the Wilderness" were raised to save the Stein.
This, the third annual Voices for the Wilderness Festival drew support from all over North America. Among the well known political leaders there Charles Caccia, federal environment critic.
Science broadcaster David Suzuki said that he sees the lobby to log the Stein as a symbol of man's greed and short-term thinking. He told the festival audience, "The Stein and other places are symbols of what's happening on the entire planet. If left unchecked, it seems to me that the argument of jobs and the economy will persuade us to go in and simply log off everything."
Suzuki said that logging the Stein, a haven for grizzly bears and the location of ancient Indian archaeological sites, would be another irreversible error by man. "We're destroying areas like this at an astonishing rate for very short term gains," he said. "Each one by itself is not the death knell, but each one is indicative that we just don’t value wilderness areas and we're willing to go in and destroy all of them."
Singer and songwriter John Denver, who flew in from Indiana for the three day festival, believes that the Stein Valley is sacred. "This is one of those very special places. They mean everything to me. A place like this is where I come for my vision quest."
The sunshine, the volunteer musical entertainment by Denver, Connie Kaldor, and Long John Bladry and the messages of Native Indian spiritual leaders uplifted and warmed the festival goers, raising hopes for the Stein's preservation. Those who attended forged a bond to protect the Stein.
