Ric BaileyWhile growing up in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, Ric Bailey irrepressibly gravitated toward wanderlust, and was besieged by a craving for the wild outdoors. He was quiet and independent, yet a somewhat rebellious kid.After high school, he migrate to rural enclaves and eventually resided in many small mountain towns throughout the Pacific Northwest, beckoned by nearby backcountry.Ric's work history began as a jack of many blue collar trades. He worked as a timber faller, long haul trucker, wildland firefighter, and river guide. He became a self-taught wilderness activist after the shock of realizing the irreplaceable wild places he loved were being dismantled by runaway industrial exploitation.In 1984 he resurrected the dormant Hells Canyon Preservation Council after being struck by federal mismanagement of the public lands embracing his new homeland: The Hells Canyon-Wallowa Mountain Ecosystem of northeast Oregon and western Idaho.During his activist career, Ric faced off with a corrupt federal agency, and dealt with overt hostility from logging and ranching proponents in the rural community of Joseph, Oregon. He faced down death threats, was shut out of local businesses, and was hung in effigy by local political opponents.In his memoir, Ric describes his unconventional transition from a blue collar worker with no college education to a white collar executive director of a formidable local conservation organization. He graphically describes his liaisons with wild places, and draws a deeply personal parallel between the need for respite from clinical depression and the healing power of the natural world.Ric now resides in the rural enclave of the Methow Valley in the North Cascades of Washington, and has risen from retirement to combat the same threats to his new home he faced in the Hells Canyon-Wallowa Country. I'm proud of his dedication to his cause, and his principles. After all, I'm his mother.-Wilma Bailey Read More Read Less