Walkin Jim Stoltz Returns to Earth

Legendary American Folksinger, Backcountry Traveler,

and Wilderness Advocate

James “Walkin’ Jim” Stoltz

Returns to Earth

by Paul Richards
September 6, 2010

Legendary American folksinger, backcountry traveler, and wilderness advocate James “Walkin’ Jim” Stoltz passed late Friday night, September 3, 2010, at St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena, Montana.

Walkin’ Jim Stoltz

Stoltz, age 57, a veteran performer for 35 years, earned his nickname “Walkin’ Jim,” by hiking more than 27,000 miles through wild country in North America. Packing a guitar and penning extraordinary lyrics along the trails, Walkin’ Jim’s always-humble-yet-strikingly-powerful songs voiced enormous respect and appreciation for the Earth, its wild places, and the wild critters that he carefully studied and truly adored.

A one-of-a-kind performer known for his powerful baritone timbre, stunning photography, humorous and elucidative stories, inspirational poetry, literally awesome lyrics, and emotion-packed vocals, Walkin’ Jim Stoltz toured extensively throughout North America for more than 35 years. His last public performance in Montana, where he lived, was on March 6, 2010, in Missoula, where he played a benefit concert and celebration for the Last, Best Place Wildlands Campaign and Wilderness Watch.

In addition to being a co-founder of the Last, Best Place Wildlands Campaign, Walkin’ Jim Stoltz co-founded Musicians United to Sustain the Environment (MUSE). In 2006, he organized a 45-state outreach tour with other musicians and authors, and worked with hundreds of community organizations to support clean water and to protect all public roadless wildlands and their dependent wildlife species. In tribute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored Stoltz with its “Outstanding Achievement Award” for his advocacy for nature and Wilderness across America.

Walkin’ Jim Stoltz was featured on folk shows and syndicated programs throughout North America, including National Public Radio in the United States and CBC/Radio-Canada.

Download his stuff at walkinjim.com

National Wilderness Month
This month (September) is National Wilderness Month, which probably means you should take a day or two off work, and tell the boss to stuff it while you enjoy the resplendent, natural glory of Earth. Maybe you could put down that cheeseburger, pick up a pen and write a letter to your local congress person about all that space that needs protectin’!
For example, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, there’s a big Wilderness Bill stalled out in congress that would protect Horse Heaven and Cathedral Rock in Central Oregon, as well as the Devil’s Staircase west of Eugene. There’s all kinds of advocacy you can do to help protect wild spaces— check leaveitwild.org for important updates in your locale.

Have a blast and enjoy life.

In news today, we have Canadians resisting wind power. The Canadian government has initiated a Green Energy program which consists of a hastily thrown together plan to attract wind energy development to one of the most sensitive bio-regions in the Great Lakes area, Pigeon Bay. In spite of dissent, the government has failed to understand the controversy, exposing environmental ignorance and losing a lot of credibility.

A recent communique posted on Bite Back states: During the night of August 12-13, nets were cut that imprisoned thousands of quail at a farm in Castelvetro. A group called “Neri come la notte” [“Black as the night”] claimed responsibility in an anonymous letter sent to the Gazzetta di Modena newspaper. In the letter, the action was dedicated, “To Billy, Costa and Silvia, because it is in direct action that we continue on the common path that leads to the destruction of civilization, because it is with action that our hearts can feel close to them.”

As a result of factory farming and terrible sanitary standards, another salmonella outbreak shocked the US last week. This is nothing new, according to this great article by the Huffington Post.

The trial of Scott DeMuth starts in a week. Scott is accused of animal liberation by the federal government and hounded by Grand Juries.

Here is a great article from the Huffington Post written by former SHAC 7 political prisoner, Andy Stepanian, called “Discovery Channel Gunman Is Not an Ecoterrorist if I Am”.

The following is a video explaining evidence that the explosion of the Deep Horizon oil rig was caused by methane hydrates. Offshore drilling is just getting more dangerous, as China and the US engage in plans to begin drilling for methane hyrdrates, themselves, because they are rich in natural gas. An explosion of methane gas, which exists in pockets undersea, would cause disaster of unforeseeable potential.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANw70F4VLhY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]