E4: Community and Conflict | The Story of Sally Gibert Part Two

When Papa Pilgrim came to town, back in the early 2000s, tensions flared, bringing to a head decades of conflict between the National Parks Service and the community of private land holders in the Wrangell Mountains. With SWAT teams descending on the tiny town of McCarthy, the Pilgrim fiasco grabbed national headlines and ignited a nation-wide political mobilization. 

Behind the scenes, though, Sally would work with patience and collaboration to help bring about a shift that would change the perspective and culture of the National Parks Service and the McCarthy community, a positive change that would long outlast Papa Pilgrim. Her collaborative approach represents the values we hold dear at the Wrangell Mountains Center and it provides hope as we navigate contemporary tensions and new conflicts.

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