history made on the rocky mountain front

Dylan Johnson
WINTER 2015
HISTORY MADE ON THE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT
Montana Wilderness Association works with communities
to protect Montana’s wilderness heritage, quiet beauty, and
outdoor traditions, now and for future generations.
OF F ICE RS
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Lee Boman, Seeley Lake
President
Mark Hanson, Missoula
President Elect
Wayne Gardella, Helena
Treasurer
Yve Bardwell, Choteau
Scott Friskics, Great Falls
Bobbie Gilmore, Whitefish
Barb Harris, Clancy
Gerry Jennings, Great Falls
Len Kopec, Augusta
HE LE N A OFF ICE
Allison Linville, Missoula
Addrien Marx, Seeley Lake
Charlie O’Leary, Butte
Rick Potts, Missoula
Bernard Rose, Billings
Greg Schatz, Columbia Falls
Patti Steinmuller,
Gallatin Gateway
Alan Weltzien, Dillon
Jo Ann Wright, Great Falls
80 S. Warren, Helena, MT 59601 • 406-443-7350 • [email protected]
Brian Sybert, Ext. 104
Executive Director
[email protected]
John Gatchell, Ext. 106
Conservation Director
[email protected]
Cedron Jones, Ext. 101
GIS Mapping Specialist
[email protected]
Denny Lester, Ext. 105
Creative Services and
Technology Manager
[email protected]
Laura Parr, Ext. 110
Business Manager
[email protected]
Sarah Shepard, Ext. 102
Development Director
[email protected]
Carl Dietchman, Ext. 104
Finance Director
[email protected]
Ted Brewer, Ext. 109
Communications Manager
[email protected]
Amanda Hagerty, Ext. 108
Administrative Assistant
[email protected]
Kelsee Dalton, Ext. 111
Executive and
Development Assistant
[email protected]
Molly Severtson, Ext. 103
Donor Relations Manager
[email protected]
CHAPTERS
F IEL D OFF ICES
Whitefish Field Office
Amy Robinson
Northwest MT Field Director
750 2nd St. W, Suite A
Whitefish, MT 59937
406-730-2006
[email protected]
Bozeman Field Office
John Todd
Southwest MT Field Director
105 West Main St., Suite 2B
Bozeman, MT 59715
406-404-1000
[email protected]
Billings Field Office
Cameron Sapp
Eastern MT Field
Representative
3318 3rd Ave. N Suite 204
Billings MT 59101
[email protected]
Great Falls Field Office
Mark Good
Central MT Field Director
1400 1st Ave. N.
Great Falls, MT 59401
406-453-9434
[email protected]
Salley Cathey
Wildlands Field Coordinator
[email protected]
CDT Program
Shannon Freix
CDT Program Manager
922 2nd Ave W.
Kalispell, MT 59901
406-781-0627
[email protected]
Choteau Field Office
Casey Perkins
Rocky Mountain Front
Field Director
P.O. Box 37
Choteau, MT 59422
406-466-2600
[email protected]
Clayton Elliott, 307-272-6298
State Policy Director
[email protected]
Missoula Field Office
127 N. Higgins, #301
Missoula, MT 59802
406-541-8615
Gabe Furshong
State Program Director
[email protected]
Zack Porter
Western MT Field Director
[email protected]
Kassia Randzio
Community Engagement
Manager
[email protected]
Meg Killen
CDT Field Crew Leader
406-250-3439
[email protected]
Sonny Mazzulo
CDT Field Coordinator
301-651-5818
[email protected]
Eastern Wildlands Chapter
PO Box 22045
Billings, MT 59104
[email protected]
Flathead-Kootenai Chapter
750 2nd St. W, Suite A
Whitefish, MT 59937
[email protected]
Island Range Chapter
1400 1st Ave. N.
Great Falls, MT 59401
[email protected]
Madison-Gallatin Chapter
105 West Main St., Suite 2B
Bozeman, MT 59715
[email protected]
Shining Mountains Chapter
127 N. Higgins, #301
Missoula, MT 59802
[email protected]
Wild Divide Chapter
80 S. Warren
Helena, MT 59601
[email protected]
Montana Wilderness Association is a proud member of Montana Shares and sends a huge thanks to
everyone who contributes to MWA through workplace giving. Montana Shares provides MWA with a
reliable and consistent source of income from participants in workplace giving campaigns.
Montana Shares, PO Box 883, Helena, MT 59624 800-823-2625 [email protected] www.montanashares.org
Wild Montana is a publication of the Montana Wilderness Association. Excerpts may be reprinted with permission.
Design and layout: Real World Design. Wild Montana is printed on recycled paper.
www.wildmontana.org
2
www.facebook.com/wildmontana
W I L D M O N TA N A
PRESIDENT’S PEN
NEW WILDERNESS, MORE TO GO
Finally! With the passage of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act,
the 31-year Wilderness drought in Montana has ended.
You listened. You participated in discussions and public meetings.
And you shared your experiences along the now-permanently protected
Rocky Mountain Front. We have new wilderness to enjoy because you
love Montana’s wild places.
Lee Boman,
MWA President
As the new president of the Montana Wilderness Association, I want to thank you. I also
want to thank Scott Friskics, who served for the last two years as president and helped
MWA achieve this incredible recent success. He guided MWA in a manner that created a
comfortable and confident environment. Please join me in recognizing Scott for his service
and long-term positive impact on Montana’s wild places.
Wild places don’t expand. Without long-term protection, they shrink and disappear.
Some of those irreplaceable wild places are the portions of the Swan Range on the
western edge of “the Bob” that are not officially part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.
It’s similar to the old situation on the eastern side of the Bob, when the Rocky Mountain
Front was not part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
The shortest route from my home in Seeley Lake to the crest of the Swan Range is the hike
to Sunday Mountain. Early in the hike, avalanche chutes pull your eyes upward to crest.
I’ve heard a wolf howl on this hike. Once you reach the crest, the Bob appears and extends
as far as you can see. But there’s one annoying fact: the beautiful basin at your feet,
Grizzly Basin, is not part of the Bob. The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act will correct the
Grizzly Basin error and add a lot more new wilderness across western Montana.
With the success of the Heritage Act to inspire us, let’s achieve more new wilderness
by passing the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.
Wishing you an exciting and rewarding 2015.
M O N T A N A
W I N T E R 2 015
VICTORY ON THE ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT
On the cover: Advocate for the
Front since 1977, Gene Sentz on
the trail to Route Creek Pass, in
the new Our Lake addition to the
Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.
HERITAGE ACT
PASSED
TAKING THE
LONG VIEW
Executive Director Brian Sybert
looks back on an historical year
that brought new wilderness
to Montana.
Conservation Director John Gatchell
gives some historical perspective
of the compromise that went into
passing the Heritage Act.
7
10
4
UPDATES FROM
THE FIELD AND
LEGISLATURE
The latest from MWA’s
on-the-ground work following
passage of the Heritage Act.
12
A long history to protect
the Rocky Mountain Front
culminated on December 12,
when Congress passed
the Heritage Act.
Some folks had been
working to protect
the Front since
the late 1970s.
I
n January 2009, more than 40 people
crowded into Stoney and Jeanne Burk’s
living room in Choteau, Montana.
A lawyer and restaurant owner, Stoney
welcomed the crowd of ranchers, farmers,
outfitters, horse packers, and other Rocky
Mountain Front locals, as well as staff
members from the Montana Wilderness
Association, The Wilderness Society, and
Montana Wildlife Federation.
The diverse group, united as the Coalition
to the Protect the Rocky Mountain Front,
expected to finally come to consensus that
day on a legislative proposal to protect the
Front, one they could finally unveil to
the public.
Little did the group know was just how much
more work and how many more emotional
highs and lows remained before the Rocky
Mountain Front Heritage Act would finally
become law.
4
Some folks in the Burks’ living room—
including Stoney, Choteau school teacher
Gene Sentz, and Pendroy taxidermist Roy
Jacobs—had been working to protect the
Front since the late 1970s and early 80s, when
the federal government leased every acre of
public land along the Front for oil and gas
development. Others later joined the effort
and helped secure a legislative withdrawal of
federal mineral leases in 2006. Since then, the
group had been meeting steadily to develop a
legislative proposal that would keep the Front
as it is for generations to come. The effort had
already involved countless kitchen table
meetings whereby boundaries and wording
for the proposal had been tweaked, tweaked
again, and then tweaked some more.
Hours of debate commenced at the Burks’
house and continued until someone made a
call for consensus late in the afternoon.
Everyone in the room eventually gave the
thumbs up. Bottles of purple champagne,
more suited for a sorority party than a
W I L D M O N TA N A
COVER STORY
Dee Linnell Blank
gathering of people wearing Wranglers and
cowboy boots, were uncorked, and photos
were taken of a very jubilant group of people.
A few days later, their smiles would be
long gone.
Following that meeting, several
Coalition members met with ranchers south
of the Sun River to address questions they
had about the Heritage Act and how it would
impact their grazing permits on federal lands.
It quickly became apparent that previous
adjustments made to the proposal hadn’t
resolved their concerns about how the bill
would affect their livelihoods. The Coalition
knew the Heritage Act couldn't move forward
without offering clarity around grazing permits.
Months went by as Coalition members
traveled up and down the Front to meet with
cattle ranchers, outfitters, and the U.S. Forest
Service to adjust boundaries and consider
WINTER 2015
new legislative language. A second attempt to
reach a final consensus was scheduled for
April in Choteau, but canceled the day prior
when more than three feet of snow fell on
Choteau, shuttering nearly every business on
Main Street and closing highways in
and out of town.
Some wondered if the Heritage Act was
doomed. Others appreciated the extra time
to consider the changes to the bill.
A third attempt to reach consensus was
scheduled (in pencil) for May. This time, no
one dared bring champagne. Some ranchers
who had expressed concerns about the
Heritage Act joined the discussion. The group
reviewed modifications made to the proposal
over the previous few months. By the end of
the meeting, folks were shaking hands across
a long conference table piled high with maps.
continued...
5
Left to right: Danelle Crary, Gene Sentz, Bonnie Crary, Connor Crary, Sen. Jon Tester
and Dusty Crary on the Crary ranch west of Choteau following passage of the lands bill.
The bill would add 67,112 acres to the Bob
Marshall Wilderness Complex. It would also
protect 208,160 acres through a unique,
made-in-Montana designation called a
Conservation Management Area, allowing
the current motorized use to continue but
not expand, and prohibiting any new roads
or other development.
All in all, it would permanently protect one
of Montana’s most cherished landscapes and
some of North America’s most productive
wildlife habitat.
The Coalition went public with the proposal
in October 2009, holding eight public
meetings in Choteau, Augusta, Great Falls,
and Helena over the next year. The success
of these meeting convinced Sen. Max
Baucus to introduce the Heritage Act in the
fall of 2011. Republicans Sen. Daines and
former Rep. Denny Rehberg each held a
meeting as well, in 2012 and 2013
respectively.
When Sen. Baucus left the Senate in 2014 to
become Ambassador to China, many in the
Coalition believed that the Heritage Act still
had a long road ahead. The election later in
the year only increased the uncertainty of
the bill’s future.
On December 10, during Congress’ 2014
lame-duck session, Coalition members met
for the umpteenth time in Choteau to take
stock of the new political challenges the
6
Heritage Act faced. They were in for a
surprise. At the beginning of the meeting,
they learned that Montana’s entire
Congressional delegation were about to
hold a press conference in Washington, D.C.
to announce they had come together in
support of the Heritage Act and that it was
included in a public lands package Congress
had attached to the National Defense
Authorization Act. The Heritage Act was
suddenly on the cusp of becoming law.
Right after the press conference, Sen.
Jon Tester called the meeting in Choteau
to congratulate the Coalition. There
was not a group of people in Montana
more elated.
Congress passed the lands package
on December 12, and the President signed
the bill into law a week later, giving Montana
its first new wilderness in 31 years.
A few days following passage of the bill,
Coalition member Dusty Crary hosted a
press conference in the middle of a cow
pasture on his ranch west of Choteau.
He stood next to Sen. Tester and former
Sen. John Walsh with the Rocky Mountain
Front in the background.
“It’s almost surreal how these things happen
after years of effort and work,” he said, his
hands jammed deep into the pockets of his
down jacket. “There were times that I didn’t
think this event would ever happen.”
W I L D M O N TA N A
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
HERITAGE ACT PASSED, FRONT PROTECTED!
by Brian Sybert
What a year 2014 turned out to be.
Not only did the Montana Wilderness Association host the biggest wilderness
celebration in the country on the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, we
closed the year out with an equally great reason to celebrate—President Barack
Obama signing a piece of legislation that permanently protects the Rocky
Mountain Front and designates the first new wilderness Montana has seen
in 31 years.
To our members, we say thank you—for your passion, your commitment, and
your unwavering advocacy. You made this historic conservation victory happen.
Years of community outreach and grassroots advocacy led by MWA members
and staff resulted in broad, bipartisan support for the protection of the iconic
Rocky Mountain Front—an amazingly unique landscape where the Great Plains
crash into the Rocky Mountains and where elk, grizzly bears, bighorn sheep,
wolverines, and a host of other species thrive in one of the most productive
wildlife areas in North America.
Befitting the extraordinary nature of the Rocky Mountain Front, all three
members of Montana’s Congressional delegation came together to pass the
Heritage Act, as well as the North Fork Watershed Protection Act. MWA thanks
our Congressional delegation, Sen. Jon Tester in particular, for working to
pass these two bills that together protect more than 650,000 acres across the
Crown of the Continent.
Passage of the Heritage Act shows us that we can put our differences aside
and come together as a community that cherishes the wild places that make
Montana so special, a community that will stand up for those wild places and
the outdoor way of life they provide.
Whether you sent a letter to our delegation, attended a public hearing,
wrote a letter to your local paper, got your friends and family involved,
or made a donation, know that your action led to the protection
of the Rocky Mountain Front.
Passage of the Heritage Act and the North Fork Watershed
Protection Act clears the legislative deck for the Forest Jobs
and Recreation Act and other wilderness proposals. With the
Heritage Act victory to inspire us, MWA will continue working
with hunters, anglers, outfitters, business owners, students,
and recreationist of all stripes to demonstrate that Montanans
want protection of the special wild country that makes our
outdoor way of life possible and defines who were are.
You made this
historic conservation
victory happen.
Jeff Van Tine
Please remember that you made this historic conservation
victory happen. Take a moment to celebrate as we work
towards the next round of protection for our wild places.
WINTER 2015
7
Jeff Van Tine
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT
HERITAGE ACT BY THE NUMBERS
208,160
The number of acres now in a
Conservation Management Area
and off-limits to commercial and
industrial development
67,112
The number of new acres now
part of the Scapegoat and Bob
Marshall Wilderness Areas
31
The number of years since
the last time wilderness was
designated in Montana
100
The approximate number of
miles along the Front now under
permanent protection
782,000
The number of acres of public
and private land where weed
eradication and control are now
a priority
8
W I L D M O N TA N A
WINTER 2015
9
U.S. Forest Service map
John Todd
TAKING THE LONG VIEW
ON WILDERNESS
by John Gatchell
I
A look back on
the Wilderness Act
of 1964 and the Lee
Metcalf Wilderness
Act of 1983 reminds
us that compromise
has always been a
part of the equation
that delivers new
wilderness.
The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act was
included in an omnibus package of 70 public
land bills that was attached to the National
Defense Authorization Act, a package that also
included the North Fork Watershed Protection
Act. Together, these two bills permanently
protect more than 650,000 acres of public land
in the Crown of the Continent, one of the most
magnificent ecosystems on Earth.
n December, our Congressional delegation
united to protect some of Montana’s
most cherished public lands. It was a long
time coming.
The last time Congress passed a public lands
omnibus bill was in 2009. That bill protected
trails, established national parks, and
designated two million acres of wilderness in
dozens of states, but it didn’t include a lick of
public land in Montana.
This time was different.
Above: An alpine lake
in the Lee Metcalf
Wilderness Area.
10
This time Montana’s congressional delegation
negotiated their differences and agreed on a
compromise, just as they did to pass the
Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Lee Metcalf
W I L D M O N TA N A
Wilderness Act of 1983, the last time
wilderness in Montana was designated.
A look back on these two pieces of
legislation reminds us that compromise has
always been a part of the equation that
delivers new wilderness.
In 1964, those we revere now as
wilderness champions, including our own
senators Lee Metcalf and Mike Mansfield,
allowed new mineral claims to be staked in
designated wilderness areas until the end of
1984. Sens. Metcalf and Mansfield accepted
this compromise because it was necessary
to pass the Wilderness Act.
In 1983, passage of the Lee Metcalf
Wilderness Act, designating 254,653 acres
of wilderness, included the removal of
interim study protections from three
wilderness candidate areas. These areas
included the Mount Henry Wilderness
Study Area (21,000 acres) in the Kootenai
National Forest, Cowboy’s Heaven
(approximately 26,000 acres) in the Gallatin
National Forest, and the Tongue River
Breaks Recommended Wilderness
(approximately 2,000 acres) in the Custer
National Forest.
In that compromise, significantly more lands
were protected (254,653 acres) under the
Lee Metcalf Wildlife Act than were put at
risk (49,000 acres). Still, the deal was hard
for some to swallow.
The Montanan Wilderness Association
supported the deal, knowing we would
continue defending those areas that had lost
their protection as a result of the bill’s
passage. We’ve so far been successful in
protecting two of them.
In 2009, we helped persuade the
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest to
recommend Cowboy’s Heaven for
wilderness. This area links the Spanish Peaks
and Beartrap Canyon areas of the Lee
Metcalf Wilderness. A portion of this area
that lies on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge
National Forest is proposed for wilderness
designation in Senator Tester’s Forest Jobs
and Recreation Act.
The Tongue River Breaks has not yet been
developed. Thanks to our efforts, the U.S.
Forest Service will consider this area for
wilderness in its next forest planning process.
WINTER 2015
Just as we didn’t give up
on the lands that served
as a compromise in the
Lee Metcalf Wilderness Act,
we won’t give up on Zook
Creek and Buffalo Creek.
Unfortunately, Mount Henry has not faired
as well. Since 1983, the area has been
roaded and logged, its wilderness qualities
degraded.
Still, few conservationists would today argue
that the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Act was not
worth the compromises that were made to
pass the bill. I predict the same will be true
of the Heritage Act 31 years from now.
The Heritage Act places 208,000 acres
of USFS and BLM land along the Front
in a Conservation Management Area that
prohibits new permanent road building or
development and disallows any expansion
of motorized use. The bill protects another
67,000 acres as Wilderness.
The compromise Sen. Jon Tester made
with Sen. Daines to permanently protect
275,00 acres along the Rocky Mountain
Front included the release of two BLM
Wilderness Study Areas in eastern
Montana—Zook Creek and Buffalo Creek.
Those two areas total about 14,000 acres.
The idea of placing public wild lands at
further risk of development isn’t any easier
for some to swallow now than it was in
1983. But this compromise represents an
even better deal for Montanans that the Lee
Metcalf Wilderness Act did 31 years ago.
Just as we didn’t give up on the lands that
served as a compromise in the Lee Metcalf
Wilderness Act, we won’t give up on Zook
Creek and Buffalo Creek. We will continue
working for the protection of these areas
and other prairie wildlands throughout
eastern Montana.
The successful passage of the Heritage Act
breaks a 31-year span of congressional
inaction on Montana wilderness, a welcome
and necessary first step. Forever protecting
the Front clears the decks for consideration
of other magnificent Montana wild lands
that have stacked up following decades of
congressional deadlock. From the
Snowcrest Mountains to the wild Swan
Range to the Big Snowies, we have a lot
more work to do to conserve Montana’s
priceless outdoor legacy.
11
UPDATES
FROM THE FIELD
LEAVING NO LANDS BEHIND IN EASTERN MONTANA
Buffalo Creek is
more vulnerable
to development
because it
has lost its
WSA status.
There were a few things to lament about how Congress passed the Heritage Act and Montana
came to see its first new wilderness in 31 years.
In December, Sen. Steve Daines requested an amendment to the bill that released two
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas in southeastern Montana—Buffalo Creek and
Zook Creek—from their Wilderness Study Area (WSA) status. The amendment also directed
the BLM to assess the oil and gas potential of two additional WSAs near the Charles M.
Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Bridge Coulee and Musselshell Breaks.
So, are these four areas poised for development? Thankfully, no.
Bridge Coulee (5,900 acres) and the Musselshell Breaks (8,650 acres) have not lost their
CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS ON THE FRONT
WITH AN EYE TO THE FUTURE
A few weeks ago, three men representing several decades of activism and dedication piled
into my old Subaru and we all drove from Choteau to Great Falls for MWA’s Island Range
Chapter holiday party.
This was a pretty special carpool for a party that couldn’t have been timed better.
In my car were Gene Sentz, Roy Jacobs, and Bill Cunningham, all local members of the
Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front. Not an hour before, the U.S. Senate had
passed the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act—a crowning achievement for the men in my
car that made the years of meetings, letters, phone calls, and trips to D.C. all well worth
their heroic effort.
It also made the reflection in my rear view window—the snowcapped mountains jutting
up from the prairie, all bathed in the pink-orange glow of the sunset—that much sweeter.
As we headed out of town, the guys buzzed with excitement, talking of trails they had
ridden and peaks they had climbed, old outfitters they had known. They talked about how rich
they had felt as young men in the backcountry, even if they were only making a few dollars a
day. They spoke of the long journey to permanently protect the Front, from fighting the oil and
gas leases to the years of hard work on a travel plan to finally pushing the Heritage Act across
the finish line.
12
W I L D M O N TA N A
!
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Speak up for Zook Creek and Buffalo
Creek! Ask the BLM to close these
areas to OHV use and coal leasing
and to manage them instead for
semi-primitive, non-motorized use.
WSA status. Even if an updated assessment reveals rich
oil and gas deposits, only another act of Congress could
remove their WSA status.
Buffalo Creek (5,650 acres) and Zook Creek (8,438 acres)
Email Mary Bloom, RMP Project
are more vulnerable to development because they have
Manager, at [email protected]
lost their WSA status. But this change doesn’t necessarily
or write to the Miles City Field Office
mean they’ll be developed. In many cases, the BLM
at 111 Garryowen Road,
continues to manage areas to maintain their wilderness
Miles City, MT 59301.
character even after their WSA status changes.
Both Buffalo Creek and Zook Creek are located within
the jurisdiction of the BLM’s Miles City Field Office, which
is currently revising its Resource Management Plan.
This plan outlines how the BLM will manage lands in southeast Montana for the next 15 to 30
years. The revision of this document gives us the perfect opportunity to influence how the BLM
will manage these two areas following their release from WSA status.
Buffalo Creek and Zook Creek are both beautiful areas replete with colorful breaks,
sandstone formations, and native prairie. They deserve permanent protection. MWA will
diligently work towards that protection as we’ve worked the last several years to protect prairie
wildlands throughout eastern Montana, including along the scenic Hi-Line.
Like southeastern Montana, the Hi-Line boasts many large, unprotected backcountry areas
with wilderness characteristics. The BLM recently identified about 386,000 acres of public land
along the Hi-Line that met their criteria as “lands with wilderness characteristics” (LWCs).
That number will likely increase because of new information that MWA provided after
conducting extensive fieldwork in the summer of 2013.
Currently, MWA is the largest conservation organization in Montana dedicated to eastern
Montana’s public lands. We’ll continue dedicating time, energy, and resources to our prairie
wildlands. By the same token, we’ll be asking you to provide comments to the BLM urging
protection of Buffalo Creek, Zook Creek, and other special wild places in eastern Montana that
we’re working to protect.
–Cameron Sapp, Eastern Montana Field Representative
–Mark Good, Central Montana Field Director
We talked about how sweet it will be to hang up a couple of new Bob Marshall Wilderness
signs along the new, enlarged boundary. We talked about the importance of working with the
Forest Service on the noxious weed plan the bill requires.
We also talked about how much work there is still left to be done, and our shared hope that
the passage of the Heritage Act will create momentum for the protection of other wild places
in Montana.
In Great Falls, the party was jubilant and filled with the hope and gratitude truly befitting
the season, hope that we can build on this victory by doing what we do best: finding common
ground, embracing local solutions, and never relenting in our effort to keep Montana wild.
Rest assured these local stalwarts who rode in my car and MWA’s Choteau field office are
already hard at work on the next chapter: making sure the Heritage Act lives up to its promise
of keeping the Front the way it is. That means working with the local community, the Forest
Service, and the BLM to ensure that the various requirements of the bill are implemented.
There’s still one remaining piece in the Rocky Mountain Front puzzle that still needs
protection—that’s the Badger-Two Medicine area.
We are working diligently with our Blackfeet tribal partners and making great strides in
our effort to remove the threat of oil and gas from the Badger-Two Medicine. Inspired by the
passage of the Heritage Act, we have great hope that we can lay the foundation for a
permanent-protection solution that this piece of the Front demands.
–Casey Perkins, Rocky Mountain Front Field Director
WINTER 2015
13
UPDATE
F R O M T H E L E G I S L AT U R E
DEFENDING PUBLIC LANDS AT THE STATE CAPITOL
!
Passage of the Heritage Act has given us good reason to celebrate. It was an incredible
success that reminds us that our values predominate in Montana and that the system for
protecting public lands still works. Bipartisan efforts that have so commonly defined how
Montanans solve problems have once again made our state and country a better place.
But the ink was barely dry on the Heritage Act when a radical minority of state
legislators came to Helena with their sights set on taking way our success—by taking the
public out of public lands. Montana’s 64th Legislature
convened this month, and we are ready to counter this
minority and kill their bills and schemes geared towards
transferring ownership of federal lands to the state.
Their transfer agenda is, as we know, a thinly veiled
attempt to sell off our public lands to the highest bidder.
Propped by extremist think tanks and backed by out-ofstate charlatans, Sen. Jennifer Fielder (R-Thompson
Falls), Rep. Kerry White (R-Bozeman), and others have
been building a legislative plan, hosting public forums,
and travelling across the West to push their transfer
agenda, an agenda that strikes not just at our outdoor
heritage, but at our way of life. If they succeed, the gates
would lock on some of Montana’s most treasured
hunting grounds, fishing holes, camping grounds, and
hiking lands. It is a reckless and irresponsible plan, one
that Montanans can’t afford and voters flatly reject.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
MWA has already started fighting against this plan
and for our public lands in the halls and chambers
Join hundreds of other Montanans
of the Capitol, reminding our elected leaders that public
in the Capitol rotunda at noon on
lands are crucial to who we are are as Montanans.
February 16, Presidents’ Day, for a
We have ramped up efforts to influence decisions in
rally to support our public lands and
our state legislature, and we are excited to be playing a
outdoor heritage.
leading role in shaping public lands policy for the future
of our state. Partnering with community, business, and
faith leaders, as well as with teachers, organized labor,
and sportsmen, we are working to build a strong and diverse coalition that leads us on a
path toward more effective public lands management.
And we will be keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening at the Capitol at
wildmontana.org and by email and asking you to take action at key moments during the
legislature.
One crucial action we will ask you of now is to join hundreds of other Montanans in
the Capitol rotunda at noon on February 16, Presidents’ Day, for a rally to support our
public lands and outdoor heritage.
–Clayton Elliott, State Policy Director
By selecting the “Wilderness” plate next time you visit your licensing bureau, you’re
not only displaying your pride in our special wild places, but you’re helping to protect
Montana’s wilderness and traditional recreational opportunities for everyone.
For more information, Call 406-443-7350 or drop by your county licensing bureau.
Go wild with the “Wilderness” plate from the Montana Wilderness Association today.
14
W I L D M O N TA N A
MEMBERS MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Thanks to the new members who joined the Montana Wilderness Association
from October 1 to December 31, 2014.
BUTTE BIG HOLE AREA
Giao Hoang
Lonnie & Daryl
W. Murphy
NorthWestern Energy
Glen Southergill
EASTERN WILDLANDS
CHAPTER
Sondra Arnold
Scott Hedegaard
Tim Nordstrom
Mur Quaglia
Dave Sapp
FLATHEAD-KOOTENAI
CHAPTER
Patty Archibald
Carol Bibler
Terri Hunt
Mark Lannen
Linda Newgard
Kathleen O’Hair
Katherine Potter
Debra Reeves
Deborah Sapp
Mary Ann Schuman
ISLAND RANGE
CHAPTER
Carol Berg
Barbara Bessette
Karen Enseleit
Julie Gibney
Josh Granger &
Erin Madison
Jill Harvie
Kam Kidrick
Lewis & Clark Trail
Heritage Foundation
Sarah Mizener
Ladawna Nelson
Mark Ozog
Joseph Petrella
Nielo Robinson
Dawn Baker
Genevieve Barhaugh
MADISON-GALLATIN
CHAPTER
Christina Crane
Garry Edson
Eliza Gillilan
Suzy Hall Hoberecht &
Kim Hoberecht
Dan Hasenpflug &
Cathy Hasenpflug
Michael Herring
Art Jacobsen
Rick Lewis
Catherine Logan
Jen Mikkelson
Brandon O’Brien
Allison Pardis
Lisa Trankley
Kristin Williamson
Peggy Wood
SHINING MOUNTAINS
CHAPTER
Edward Callaghan
Checota Foundation
Nancy De Pastino
George Frasca
Nancy Gibson
Morgan Hyde
Caleb Kasper
Sam & Marilyn Lemaich
Nick Lockridge
Bill Moore
Susan Peterson
Norm Sindelar
Renee Snyder
The Sports Exchange LLC
Jamie Tipton
Brandon Veth
Patricia Vogel
Mark Wetherington, Jr
Karen J. Wilson
WILD DIVIDE
CHAPTER
Lesley Bergman
Rebecca Cooper
Joe Donohoe
Steve Harper
Adel Johnson
Ben Lamb
Paul Lehman
Roy Marino
Ada Montague
David Niss
Kristie Noonan
Cara Orban
Lorraine Samuel
OUT OF STATE
Jim and Jan Bobst
Erin Burke
Lois Cameron
Travis Chapin
Jodi Clark &
Mae Morales
Monte Cole
Tom & Cindy Downing
Dan Fenn
Christine Gillmore
Robert Harder
John & Lisa Harley
Debi Herman
Geoff & Norma Kontje
Mark Krause
Thomas Linville
Emily Madison
Doug Messineo
Gary Miller
Mark Nowicki
Patricia & Hans Peterson
Louise Pfister
Joy & Bob Rogers
Bob & Valerie Russo
Christina Sandt
Lisa Seeley
Will Snyder
Ann Sutton
Judith Talley
Aaron Theisen
Karl Toubman &
Kathie Pomeroy
Michael Wilpers
Richard Wise
WHY I
GIVE
“I love the rare beauty, inspiration, and peace I find in the
pristine wild places of Montana. From my home in Billings,
I can head out to the Pryors—an island of mountains rising
from the prairies, cut with rugged canyons and bordered
by red desert landscapes. Here I am able to immerse myself
in a land sacred to the Crow Indians and home to some of the most diverse botany,
wildlife, and geology in Montana. By supporting MWA, I am able to help protect and
preserve these unique wild lands for generations to come.“ –Rita Harding, Billings, MT
WINTER 2015
15
PA I D
Don’t sell, donate.
Anyone in the country can donate to
MWA, not just those in Montana. If you
have a vehicle in another city or state,
give us a call and we’ll coordinate
picking it up...hassle free guaranteed.
Call our toll-free number, 1-855-406-GIVE
(4483), and speak with a representative
from MWA’s Vehicle Donation Program.
We’ll schedule a pickup time that’s
convenient for you and provide you with
confirmation of your donation.
Call 1-855-406-GIVE (4483) today.
Montana Wilderness Association
80 S. Warren, Helena, MT 59601
Donate your car, truck, boat, or RV to
the Montana Wilderness Association,
receive a tax deduction, and help
to protect Montana’s wilderness and
traditional recreational opportunities.
Permit #151
Great Falls, MT
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
WHAT ARE YOU
GOING TO DO
WITH THAT CAR?