For more than ten years, The Conservation Alliance has supported Montana Wilderness Association’s efforts to protect the Blackfoot River watershed. Efforts to permanently protect the iconic Montana River began in 2005 when two groups who don’t traditionally see eye to eye – snowmobilers and wilderness advocates – came together to create a proposal to provide new opportunities for winter recreation and add key pieces of habitat to existing Wilderness. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act is the result of this decades long, multi-stakeholder collaboration.
The bill “offers something for everyone“. The BCSA would designate 78,000 acres of wilderness with the expansions to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Mission Mountain Wilderness Areas, and establish two new Recreation Areas, the 2,000-acre Otatsy Recreation Area, a popular snowmobiling area, and the Spread Mountain Recreation Area, preserving prized mountain biking access to Spread Mountain, Center Ridge and Camp Pass. Additionally, the bill will allow the Forest Service more tools to actively manage forests on the Seeley Ranger district. Sustainable timber harvest is crucial to the local economy and the bill’s collaborative approach has resulted in coordination with and endorsement from Pyramid Lumber – one of the areas largest employers.
Click here to learn more about the effort to protect this landscape.
The Conservation Alliance enthusiastically endorses the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act and looks forward to working with the entire Montana delegation to protect this important watershed this Congress.
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Live in Montana and want to take action for the BCSA? We’ve made it easy for you to write the Montana delegation. Follow the prompts below.
