The Mountaineers
Last week our community received the heartbreaking news about the passing of Daniel J. Evans, lifetime member, Mountaineers Lifetime Award Recipient, and former Washington governor who left a lasting legacy. Praised as one of the most distinguished leaders in the state of Washington, Governor Evans was especially admired for his environmental ethic and accomplishments protecting public lands for the health of our communities, our economy, and our planet.
Evans was born in Seattle on October 16, 1925. He graduated Roosevelt High School in 1943, received a bachelors of engineering from the University of Washington in 1948, and, after serving in the navy until 1943, spent his early adult life working as a structural engineer for Seattle. He married Nancy Bell in 1959 who passed earlier this year after a battle with breast cancer. Dan and Nancy are survived by their three sons, Dan Jr., Mark, and Bruce Evans.
Evans entered the political sphere in 1956 when he was elected as a member of the Washington State House of Representatives, representing Seattle's 43rd district. He served in the House until 1965, when he was elected as governor of Washington, becoming – at 39 – the youngest governor in Washington’s history. He remained governor for 12 years, advancing key priorities in education and the environment.
After leaving office, Evans served as president of The Evergreen State College for six years, until elected to temporarily fill a Senate seat from 1983-1988.
2020 Lifetime AChievement Award Recipient Dan J. Evans at the 2022 Gala.
Evans’ love for the Northwest’s natural environment began at an early age when he summited Silver Peak with his Boy Scout troop at the age of 12. The day’s rain, sleet, and snow convinced Evans that he would “never, ever do anything like [that] again.” But by the time he returned home, he “burst through the door,” overwhelmed with the joy of the day’s triumph, having already forgotten its challenges. According to Evans, that day is what “started it all.”
During his time in the Senate, Evans helped lead the passage of the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984, which added one million acres to Washington’s wilderness. He was also personally responsible for persuading President Ford to create the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, leveraging the power of compelling photos and storytelling within Mountaineers Books The Alpine Lakes.
“I sat down with the President and then opened the book,” Evans recalled. “And he just kept leafing through that book, lost.” Evans’ allotted 15 minutes with the President quickly turned into 45, as Ford continuously dismissed his next meetings. Soon after, Ford signed the Washington Wilderness bill and the Alpine Lakes was created.
Evans was also essential in helping create the North Cascades National Park, as well as initiating efforts that led to the creation of the Washington State Department of Ecology, the first in the country.
Long after Evans’ time in office, his dedication to important causes continued. He stayed actively involved in community and nonprofit organizations, chairing the National Academy of Science’s Commission on Policy Options for Global Warming, co-founding Washington's National Park Fund alongside Lou Whittaker and Melinda French Gates, and co-founding the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition alongside Mike Lowry. In 2017, an area of Olympic National Park consisting of 1.5 million acres of wilderness was renamed The Daniel J. Evans Wilderness in honor of Evans’ unwavering commitment to conservation.
“Dan has helped everyone in this region recognize, protect, and value the wildlands that we have around us,” shared Sally Jewell at our virtual 2020 Mountaineers Gala honoring Evans as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. “What makes Dan different from others is that he’s about getting things done. And it doesn’t matter about whether he gets credit, and it doesn’t matter about whether he’s working with the most liberal democrat or the most conservative republican or someone that doesn’t even vote… Dan just epitomizes the best of public service and really knows how to put differences aside and work toward a common goal.”
Evans passed away on September 20, 2024, at the age of 98. While we mourn the loss of Governor Evans, now is the time to continue his legacy of working together to protect and care for the people and places we love. In Evans’ words, “Keep up the fight. Keep protecting. If we don’t preserve it, it’s lost forever.”
Here are a few things friends and colleagues had to say about Evans:
"I first had the opportunity to meet Governor Evans about 15 years ago when his grandson was a member of the scout troop I helped lead. Over the years, he became a mentor and a friend. I’ve always admired his leadership style, especially the way he brought together people with different perspectives to accomplish important priorities. His example has left a mark on how I approach leadership at The Mountaineers and I’m deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to know Dan Evans."
– Tom Vogl, CEO at The Mountaineers
"The impact of Governor Evans' decisive work protecting the exceptional natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest will be felt for all time and generations to come. Whenever I heard him speak at a conservation event, he always told the story of how a Mountaineers Book from 1971 saved the Alpine Lakes Wilderness from a presidential veto.
Around 2010, efforts by conservationists increased to protect the lands surrounding protected areas that were still undeveloped, but vulnerable as populations and growth increased in our region. Governor Evans opined: "I wish there was a book on the North Cascades that I could pass around, it worked like a charm the last time." At Mountaineers Books and Braided River, we were happy to oblige with North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby and then again in 2023 with Salmon, Cedar, Rock and Rain: Washington's Olympic Peninsula. I'm honored that Governor Evans was part of early discussions on the development of both books. In Governor Evans, I felt I had a soul mate who appreciated the power of a book to change perspectives."
– Helen Cherullo, Executive Director at Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books.
"When I first became involved with wilderness preservation in Washington, then Governor Dan Evans was a giant. He maintained that stature for the next half century. Dan stepped in to save beautiful Shi Shi Beach on the North Olympic coast and later, as U.S. Senator, guided protection for more than a million acres of wilderness in Washington's national forests. He then sponsored a bill that established a vast sweep of protective wilderness in Washington’s three national parks. Dan supported countless conservation efforts in his beloved Olympic Mountains, including the landmark restoration of the Elwha River.
On a personal note, Dan generously wrote forewords for two Mountaineers conservation books I co-authored and offered encouragement for my work. I was honored to read a poem at the dedication of Daniel J. Evans Wilderness in Olympic National Park. At 91, Dan had just backpacked into Royal Basin, one of our favorite places in the Olympics. It is with deep gratitude that I count myself among generations of conservationists inspired by Dan Evans' life, work, and example."
– Tim McNulty is a poet, nature writer, author of Olympic National Park: A Natural History (UW Press), and contributing author to Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain: Washington's Olympic Peninsula published by Braided River.
"Dan Evans was one of a kind. No one was better at reaching across the aisle. I told him once that he was the only Republican my father ever voted for. He replied that if he had a penny for every time he'd heard the likes of that, he'd be rich."
– David Guterson is a contributing author to Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain: Washington's Olympic Peninsula (Braided River), and Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest (Mountaineers Books).
We hope you’ll share your favorite Dan Evans memories in the comments below.
