Bill Mauk thought the nationwide demonstration he and a merry band of youthful organizers were planning for an April day in 1970 would rival some of the anti-war protests he had seen.

Environmental issues had become very personal for the Pocatello kid who had just graduated from the University of Southern California and served as its student body president.

It had recently come out that a mine was planned for the pristine White Cloud Mountains where he had hiked as a boy.

Later that summer, he would take a film crew into the mountains to try to drum up attention to the issue.

But as that April 22 approached, he never imagined people would still be celebrating Earth Day 39 years later.

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