Wilderness advocate Walkin’ Jim Stoltz brings his award-winning

multi-media presentation “Forever Wild” to the Laurel Theatre tonight at

7:30 p.m. His presentation offers a unique eyewitness look at the state of

our nation’s wilderness areas.

“The gist of my message is that we’re losing our wild places,” said

Stoltz.

He presents his message through poetry and song. Slides of various

wilderness areas across the nation add emphasis to his lyrics. He also

focuses attention on the welfare of endangered species. He avoids

stand-offish techniques of many protesters. “The show is by no means any

kind of soap box, it’s more subtle,” he said. “It’s a celebration rather

than an alarmist type of thing.”

Stoltz began playing music professionally in Detroit, Mich., in the

early 1970s. Though he considers the mountains of Montana to be his home,

he spends a lot of his time traveling to schools, colleges, coffeehouses

and festivals throughout the country.

His presentation earned him an Outstanding Achievement Award from the

Environmental Protection Agency. His personal accomplishments have earned

him his nickname.

“I get the name Walkin’ Jim from having walked 18,000 miles of

wilderness,” said Stoltz. ” Most of it has been out west, but I have walked

the Appalachian Trail. I’ve also walked from coast to coast.”

Most of his footwork has been off-road, in wilderness back country.

“Some of it’s not even on trails,” he says. “I make my own trails.”

Stoltz hopes to educate people about what they can do to help preserve

wildlife.

“I try to make people aware that everyone in the country has a say

about what’s going to happen to these wilderness lands,” he says. “Every

year we’re nibbling away at these vast undeveloped places.”