About Us
WHO = The Founders of Noble Cause Northwest - two friends and Northwest natives, Barry Butcher and Don Painter. Both are outdoor enthusiasts who wanted to give back in a new and lasting way that their grandchildren, and their grandchildren’s children, could someday see and enjoy. Having been a scout himself, Barry felt it was a natural partnership to team with the Boy Scouts. Boy Scouting is about the outdoors, taking care of the environment and sustaining the outdoors.
“Our Commitment is to heal the blast zone and in doing that, heal hearts….and if other people feel the way we do about the environment and are inspired to help our cause, we’re even more excited.”
-Barry Butcher, founder
WHAT = Noble Cause Northwest: A sustainable organization aiming to replenish the native noble fir forests that were destroyed in the Mount St. Helen’s Blast on May 18th, 1980. These nobles, hand-planted and protected, will not be harvested.
WHEN = Now. One tree can absorb roughly 1,609 lbs. of carbon over its lifetime and 22 trees can produce enough oxygen to sustain a person (WikiAnswers). Those same 22 trees will absorb 35,398 lbs. of carbon! Now imagine what thousands of trees can do, and you’ll begin to see the power behind this project. 209,170,000 lbs. is a lot of carbon eliminated! But these trees won’t grow overnight. A Noble Fir takes decades to reach maturity, so it’s our environmental respons- ibility to act now to protect our future generations.
WHERE = In the Blast Zone, northwest of the Caldera, near the convergence of Hanford, Elk, Silver and Fawn Lakes. See a map of the Blast Zone
