Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation Names New Director

Clifford Kipp brings more than 20 years of conservation and leadership experience to wilderness nonprofit

BY MICAH DREW

APRIL 12, 2023

The Flathead Beacon

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation (BMWF), the nonprofit that fosters wilderness stewardship and works to ensure access to Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness complex, has named Clifford Kipp as the organization’s next executive director.

Kipp brings more than two decades of conservation experience to his new role. He spent the last 20 years of his career working with the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) as the Northern Rockies regional director based in Kalispell. He has also served on numerous outdoor-related board including the Foys to Blacktail Trails and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Citizens Advisory Committee.

“Cliff offers valuable experience including years in the field supervising Montana Conservation Corps employees and fostering successful relationships with host agencies. He has a strong track record working in wilderness; building quality, collaborative programs; and encouraging positive work experiences for employees and volunteers,” Terry Knupp, chair of the Board of Directors for the BMWF wrote in a press release announcing Kipp’s hiring on Tuesday. “He is beginning a new, exciting chapter for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.” 

For all Kipp’s time working in the outdoors, he never thought it was a viable career option when he was younger.

“In high school I volunteered with the Colorado Trail Association for a week finishing a stretch of trail near Durango. I remember being so energized by that,” Kipp said. “But at that moment I didn’t think that you could make a career out of that kind of work. It didn’t trigger the thought process that I should pursue a conservation path or think about working for a land manager.”

Fast forward a few years, and Kipp found himself in Great Falls working with MCC. “I realized these were people who developed a career path around this kind of work — being outside, being in service to the land and to each other,” he said. “I needed to figure out how to make this kind of work my life.”

He moved to the Flathead Valley in the winter of 2004 to take over MCC’s regional office. At the time, he was the only full-time, year-round employee, and he oversaw two adult crews. Now, at the end of his tenure at MCC, the office has grown to six staff and runs 15 conservation crews each year.

Kipp spent five years on the BMWF board of directors, and the nonprofit was one of many conservation organizations he collaborated with in his MCC role.

“The foundation has such an awesome staff and run great programs — the packer apprenticeship, wilderness conservation interns, girls in the Bob — I’m excited to come on as the director and continue the great course the organization is on,” he said.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation’s mission is to provide active wilderness stewardship of the 1.5-million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. The Foundation engages approximately 400 volunteers each summer through hands-on service projects that open trails, restore heavily used areas and treat invasive weeds. They provide a range of Wilderness internships, including the Packer Apprentice program, offer Wilderness education programs and host the Artist Wilderness Connection residency.

Kipp said that one area he would like to explore is strengthening relationships between BMWF and the Blackfeet and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

“Land managers and conservation organizations are coming around to acknowledging First Nations first, but it’s more than just having a land acknowledgement statement,” Kipp said. “It’s about centering some Indigenous ideals in what we do. We need to seek those out and find people who can help guide how we deliver our programming. Those are important voices to be heard.”

Kipp will begin as executive director on May 8, commencing a role that will include overseeing BMWF’s financial health, building relationships with volunteers, donors and community partners, and overseeing the organizations six full-time employees. He replaces Bill Hodge, who led the Foundation since 2019 before accepting a job as the Montana State Director with the Wilderness Society this winter.

“I’m excited to focus on this particular landscape. Montana has a gem in the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex and it’s a privilege to be part of an organization that teaches people about this space,” Kipp said. “Most people don’t understand what capital ‘W’ wilderness means, but it has a special meaning. The implications of that capital ‘W,’ whether cultural, recreational or preservation-minded, are special and we get to share them with the public.”