Three cheers for Ralph Swain! He is doing amazing work keeping the flame of the wilderness ideal burning brightly within the U.S. Forest Service.

When visionary conservation laws such as the Wilderness Act are passed, the achievement is accompanied by inspiring words and good intentions. Inevitably, however, in the workaday world of government, the juice of inspiration and good intentions tends to dry up under regulatory interpretations, bureaucratic ennui and political pressures to make management exceptions "just this once." It's no one's fault; that's just the way of the world.

Once the laws are passed, we can hold onto our conservation heritage only when big-picture thinkers such as Ralph Swain are willing to serve as its sometimes unpopular guardians and keep the vision alive.

Somewhere out there in the wild beyond, Howard Zahniser is smiling.