The mission of the Friends of Blue Mountains Lookouts (FOBML) is the repair, renovation, and maintenance of forest fire lookouts, ground cabins, and guard stations in the National Forests of the Blue Mountains in Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon.

Many of these facilities were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a job relief program that employed young men on environmental and conservation projects during the Great Depression. The very nature of these structures and buildings is a historical look at how we viewed our great forests and sought to protect them. Each year as funding for forest-related projects shrinks, more lookouts and guard stations move towards demobilization. As structures fall into disrepair, Friends of Blue Mountains Lookouts raises money and recruits volunteers to help repair, restore, and maintain them before they disappear.

Bob Bonstead has his own history with these structures. As a Hot Shot firefighter in the Toiyabe National Forest in the late 1960s, he connected with these structures during his dangerous work. Now, his mission as the FOBML Director is to help preserve our local fire history before it disappears. In this presentation, he will share some of the restoration projects his group has undertaken along with some history about the different structures in the Blue Mountains.