Mountain goats have been on the collective minds of the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness for several years now. At first, it was because the goats had become somewhat problematic and habituated panhandlers on Scotchman Peak Trail No. 65.

More recently, they have been the catalyst for a big effort by FSPW volunteers and staff to educate visitors to the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness about the wisdom of keeping their distance from all wild animals, and goats in particular. That said, it should be noted here that Leslie Kiebert’s winning photo of a mountain goat nanny and kid in the 2016 FSPW photo contest was taken with a telephoto lens.

Kiebert’s photo was judged best of the entries for 2016 by Facebook Friends of Scotchman Peaks, outdistancing all other “likes” by a margin of at least 3 to 1. For her efforts, she will receive a print of her photo matted and framed by Ward Tolbom of Hen’s Tooth Gallery in Sandpoint. Kiebert, who grew up in Hope, and was also the 2016 winner of the FSPW essay scholarship contest for Clark Fork High School.

First and second runners-up for the contest were Jeff Meeker for his image of a snow-laden Scotchman Peak approach with Lake Pend Oreille in the background and Ken VandenHeuvel for his dawn light picture of Horseshoe Lake and Vertigo Ridge. They will receive some Scotchman Peaks wearables.

The Scotchman Peaks Photo Contest is an annual event beginning Nov. 1 and ending on Oct. 31. Any photo of the Scotchman Peaks proposed wilderness is welcome. You can view the results of the 2016 contest here: bit.ly/FSPWPhotoContest2016

To learn more about the 2017 contest, and enter your pictures, go online to scotchmanpeaks.org/hiking/annual-photo-contest/.