Member Recommendation: Oboz
Wild Montana is working with partners to protect 400,000 acres of the Blackfoot watershed and defend Montana’s 8 million acres of BLM public lands.
Protecting the Blackfoot: Wild Montana will mobilize communities, businesses, and decision-makers to advance A River Runs Through It, a proposal that unifies two longstanding collaborative efforts to protect the Blackfoot watershed. This landscape contains some of Montana’s most important wildlife habitat and the headwaters of the Blackfoot and Clearwater Rivers. Yet, despite decades of U.S. Forest Service wilderness recommendations, it remains unprotected. A River Runs Through It would designate 135,000 acres of new Wilderness, 63,000 acres of Conservation Management Areas, and 179,000 acres of Forest Restoration Areas, bringing linkage of the Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystems one step closer. It will reduce wildfire risk to nearby communities while enhancing recreation opportunities, including permanent snowmobile access, 25 miles of new mountain biking trails, and expanded OHV opportunities benefiting gateway communities such as Lincoln, Ovando, and Seeley Lake. Wild Montana is actively engaging Montana’s Congressional delegation, who have indicated interest in introducing legislation, to build a united delegation approach.
Defending Montana’s BLM Lands: The BLM manages over 8 million acres of land in Montana, encompassing nearly all remaining intact sagebrush habitat and providing migration corridors for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and sage grouse. Current federal efforts to roll back Resource Management Plans and weaken land protections threaten this ecological and economic foundation. Wild Montana will mobilize its network of 100,000 people to oppose Congressional Review Act rollbacks, submit technical comments, and engage the State BLM Director — protecting the public lands that support Montana’s outdoor economy and the nation’s 80 million annual BLM recreation visits.
