The End of The Road

Episode 4


CONFLICT AND COMMUNITY: THE STORY OF SALLY GIBERT, PART 2

November 24, 2020

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.

Photo: Jeremy Pataky

In this Episode

  • Sally Gibert: WMC Founder works with the McCarthy community and the National Park Service during the Pilgrim fiasco.

  • Jessie Sheldon: Interviewer and Wrangell Mountains Center Media Artist

  • Jon Erdman: Interviewer, Producer, and Wrangell Mountains Center Executive Director

  • Kevin MacLeod: Music, see attribution below

 

Photo: Jeremy Pataky