Connecting People to Special Places from the President and Executive Director

SPRING 2016

HIKEWILDMONTANA.ORG CONNECTING PEOPLE TO SPECIAL PLACES FROM THE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

FROM “WHOLLY UNFIT” TO ECONOMIC ENGINE

Montana Wilderness Association works with communities “Almost wholly unfit for cultivation, and of course uninhabitable.” to protect Montana’s wilderness heritage, quiet beauty, and outdoor traditions, now and for future generations. This quote came from one of the leaders President James Monroe sent to explore the American West in the early 19th century. It pretty much sums up early perceptions that the “Great American OFFICERS COUNCIL MEMBERS Desert” held no economic potential. Lee Boman, MWA President Lee Boman, Seeley Lake Yve Bardwell, Choteau Allison Linville, Missoula Bernard Rose, Billings President Barb Harris, Helena Addrien Marx, Seeley Lake Greg Schatz, Columbia Falls My, how things change. According to Headwaters Economics, Mark Hanson, Missoula Steve Holland, Bozeman Charlie O’Leary, Butte Patti Steinmuller, Bozeman western landscapes once thought to offer no positive economic President Elect Gerry Jennings, Great Falls Rick Potts, Missoula Alan Weltzien, Dillon impact now lead our nation in economic growth. From 1970 Wayne Gardella, Helena Len Kopec, Augusta Debo Powers, Polebridge Jo Ann Wright, Great Falls Treasurer John Larson, Kalispell to 2010, employment in the west grew by 152%, compared to 78% for the rest of the country. From 1970 to 2014, employment

HELENA OFFICE 80 S. Warren, Helena, MT 59601 • 406-443-7350 • [email protected] grew by 242% in counties with ample public land, compared to 73% in counties with less public land. Personal income grew Brian Sybert, Ext. 104 Denny Lester, Ext. 105 Amanda Hagerty, Ext. 108 James Sutcliffe , Ext. 101 Executive Director Creative Services and Special Projects Coordinator Database Manager by 333% in counties with lots of public land, compared to [email protected] Technology Manager [email protected] [email protected] 122% in the counties with little. [email protected] John Gatchell, Ext. 106 Heather Greene, Ext. 102 Zuri Moreno , 406-438-2040 Federal Lands Policy Director Laura Parr, Ext. 110 Development Director CDT Montana Field Coordinator Visitors deposit $3.6 billion in Montana’s local economies each [email protected] Business Manager [email protected] [email protected] year and sustain 48,260 Montana jobs. Why is the outdoor [email protected] Cedron Jones, Ext.109 Kelsee Dalton , Ext. 111 recreation and tourism industry booming? Yellowstone, Glacier, Brian Sybert, MWA GIS Mapping Specialist Carl Deitchman, 406-422-3008 Development Coordinator grizzly bears, elk herds, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and about Executive Director [email protected] Finance Director [email protected] a thousand more reasons having to do with our world-class [email protected] public lands. FIELD OFFICES CHAPTERS One of the other reasons is the Badger-Two Medicine, a place sacred to the Blackfeet people Billings Field Office Great Falls Field Office Kassia Randzio Eastern Wildlands Chapter Charlie Smillie Mark Good Community Engagement Manager 2822 3rd Avenue N, Suite 204 and special to all Montanans. Thankfully, in March, the Department of Interior canceled an Eastern MT Field Director Central MT Field Director 406-830-6035 Billings, MT 59101 oil and gas lease that could have desecrated the Badger. The department recognized that 2822 3rd Avenue N. Suite 204 1400 1st Ave. N. [email protected] [email protected] this place has so much more value than could ever be gained by drilling it, a value that has Billings, MT 59101 Great Falls, MT 59401 406-690-3725 406-453-9434 Kayje Booker Flathead-Kootenai Chapter everything to do with why we live in Montana and why people from all over the world visit. [email protected] [email protected] State Lands Program Manager 750 2nd St. W, Suite A 406-830-7926 Whitefish, MT 59937 Bozeman Field Office Libby Field Office [email protected] [email protected] But we can do better for some of the communities near wild places like the Badger. That’s 105 West Main St., Suite 2B Ashley South Whitefish Field Office Island Range Chapter one of the reasons MWA created hikewildmontana.org, Montana’s first-ever online trail Bozeman, MT 59715 108 East 4th St. Suite 205 Amy Robinson 1400 1st Ave. N. guide. The guide will help people locate trailheads throughout the state and help them find 406-404-1000 Libby, MT 59923 Northwest MT Field Director Great Falls, MT 59401 a great place nearby to have a burger or a beer or to stay for the night. It will help local 406-291-2708 750 2nd St. W, Suite A [email protected] John Todd [email protected] Whitefish, MT 59937 businesses statewide realize the financial value in their proximity to Montana’s wildlands, Conservation Director Madison-Gallatin Chapter Missoula Field Office 406-284-1747 even if those wildlands aren’t a national park. [email protected] [email protected] 105 West Main St., Suite 2B 118 W. Broadway, Suite 1 Bozeman, MT 59715 Sally Cathey Missoula, MT 59802 CDT Program [email protected] Southwest MT Field Director Of course, economics is probably not what most of us had in my mind when we joined Gabe Furshong Shannon Freix [email protected] CDT Program Manager Shining Mountains Chapter MWA. An abiding love of our wild places and wildlife is perhaps what drew most of us. Deputy Director 118 W. Broadway, Suite 1 Ted Brewer 406-461-6897 912 2nd Ave W. But it is good to know that as we work to ensure abundant wild places forever, we are Kalispell, MT 59901 Missoula, MT 59802 Communications Manager [email protected] [email protected] also helping to strengthen the quality of life for all Montanans. [email protected] 406-499-2309 Zack Porter [email protected] Wild Divide Chapter Choteau Field Office Western MT Field Director 80 S. Warren Casey Perkins Meg Killen 406-823-0695 CDT Field Crew Leader Helena, MT 59601 Rocky Mountain Front [email protected] [email protected] Field Director 406-250-3439 P.O. Box 37, Choteau, MT 59422 [email protected] HIKE WILD MONTANA 4 406-466-2600 On the cover: MWA launches online, [email protected] statewide trail guide, connecting MONTANA people to our special places.

Montana Wilderness Association is a proud member of Montana Shares and sends a huge thanks to SPRING 2016 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 BADGER-TWO MEDICINE UPDATES FROM Wild Montana is a publication of the Montana Wilderness Association. Excerpts may be reprinted with permission. The Department of Interior THE FIELD Design and layout: Real World Design. Wild Montana is printed on recycled paper. cancels an oil and gas lease The latest from MWA’s that posed an imminent threat on-the-ground work around to this sacred area. the state. www.wildmontana.org www.facebook.com/wildmontana 8 12 2 WILD MONTANA COVER STORY

YOUR ONLINE GUIDE TO THE BEST TRAILS UNDER THE BIG SKY

INTRODUCING ade possible by a grant from the Montana Office of Tourism and with the help of more than 70 MWA volunteers who hiked, photographed, and mapped 200-plus trails, hikewildmontana.org offers a single website where people can discover new trails, view inspiring photos, get up-to-date trail conditions, and add their own trail descriptions.

Building on MWA’s 55 years of organizing Wilderness Walks, hikewildmontana.org connects people with the wild places we’re working to protect. It inspires lifelong Montanans, new arrivals, and visitors alike to not just discover new trails but also to engage in the future of these places as stewards and advocates. Each trail description includes information about the work we’re doing to protect the area and ways to give back to these special places.

We created hikewildmontana.org to also strengthen the connections between public lands and local economies. Trail descriptions often include recommendations for nearby businesses where you can find great burgers, beer, breakfasts, or B&Bs. By encouraging people to stop, enjoy, and spend dollars in gateway communities, hikewildmontana.org helps showcase the value of quiet outdoor recreation to rural economies. continued

4 WILD MONTANA SPRING 2016 5 6

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a e o h i y t s r t s e 7 The Department There will be no oil rigs rolling into In a letter to Solenex, the Acting the sacred Badger-Two Medicine Montana Director of the Bureau of of Interior takes anytime soon. Land Management (BLM), Aden bold action on an Seidlitz, wrote that the BLM and the On March 17, 2016, the federal United States Forest Service (USFS) oil and gas lease government took definitive action to violated the National Environmental terminate an oil and gas lease held by Policy Act and the National Historic that posed an Louisiana-based Solenex, LLC. The Preservation Act. imminent threat department canceled the lease on the grounds that it was improperly and He also explained that the agencies to the Badger- therefore illegally issued in 1982. “failed to comport with the national Two Medicine. policy to protect and preserve the rights of American Indians to exercise traditional religions, including access to important sites.

“The BLM and the Department have determined,” the letter continues, “that surface disturbing activities are incompatible with the irreplaceable natural and cultural resources of the Badger-Two Medicine area. Those Tribal nations, sportsmen and women, resources must be safeguarded from and people across Montana who all future oil and gas activities.” love wild places—we all raised our voices together, and we were heard. Solenex filed its original complaint Thanks to your commitment, the to U. S. District Judge Richard Leon Badger and its clear headwaters, in 2013, alleging that the government grizzly bears, elk, wolves, wolverines, had unlawfully delayed the lynx, and westslope cutthroat trout development of the lease and asking are one giant step closer to being the court to lift the lease suspension protected from development. continued

“Surface disturbing activities are incompatible with the irreplaceable natural and cultural resources of the Badger-Two Medicine area. Those resources must be safeguarded from all future oil and gas activities.” –Aden Seidlitz, Acting Montana Director of the BLM

By Casey Perkins Grizzly Bear Robert L. Childs so the company could begin drilling Our hopes got a boost in April, in the Badger as early as the summer when Secretary of the Interior Sally g n i

of 2016. This direct threat to the Jewell gave a speech in which she b m a

cultural, historical, and ecological mentioned the Badger-Two Medicine L

n h

values of the Badger-Two Medicine, specifically as one of the places on o just south of Glacier National Park, has American public lands that should be J inspired a cascade of opposition to protected for their importance to drilling there. Native Americans.

Ignoring the obvious immorality of “These are special areas,” she said, desecrating the Badger’s millennia of “and I look forward to making history and deaf to the public outcry progress on them this year.” against developing a place a few miles from Glacier National Park, Solenex Montanans realize that there are some has accused the government of acting places that are too important, too out of spite toward the company’s culturally and ecologically significant, dogged attempts to pursue to be drilled. The Badger-Two exploratory drilling in the Badger. Medicine is one of those places. We’re thankful that the Department Ironically, after years of claiming of Interior and Secretary Sally Jewell unlawful delay, the lawyers for came to this realization as well. Solenex waited a full month to bring a challenge to the cancellation decision. MWA will continue working with At the time Wild Montana went to the Blackfeet tribe and all of our press, the judge was considering partners who value wild, sacred whether to allow that challenge to landscapes until the Badger is proceed. Should he do so, the Badger finally and permanently protected. could be the subject of another courtroom battle that could take In the meantime, we invite you to months, possibly years, to resolve. experience the beauty and solace of the Badger-Two Medicine this summer We are optimistic that the Department on one of our Wilderness Walks to of Interior’s decision will ultimately Hall Creek, Buffalo Lakes, or Kiyo stand, and we will then be able to turn Crag. our attention to the 17 remaining leases that span roughly 34,000 acres We also encourage you to stay in the Badger. When it canceled informed about the Badger and other the Solenex lease, the department special places across Montana on provided the rationale for canceling our public lands blog, Wild Word, the other leases. We are confident at wildmontana.org/wild-word. it will eventually do so.

Montanans realize that there are some places that are too important, too culturally and ecologically significant, to be drilled.

Blackfeet youth in the Badger-Two Medicine

10 WILD MONTANA SPRING 2016 11 UPDATES FROM THE FIELD SPANDEX AND LEATHER WORKING TOGETHER For the past eight years, mountain bikers, backcountry horsemen/women, hikers, skiers, hunters, and other conservationists in southwestern Montana—united as the Montana High Divide Trails (MHDT) partnership—have worked together with the shared understanding that there is room for both more wilderness and more mountain biking in Montana and that we can, by collaborating, protect and expand each other’s interests. MWA is a founding member of MHDT. In addition to helping restore quiet mountain trails and protect wildlands otherwise lost to aggressive and expanding motorized traffic, MHDT has also expanded mountain biking opportunities that are compatible with existing wilderness and lands recommended for wilderness conservation. Here’s a sampling of what we’ve helped accomplish in the last eight years: • Since 2008, “spandex and leather working together” has helped the US Forest Service build and restore quiet, single-track across miles of the Continental Divide Trail, from Butte to Lincoln.

s • The 2009 Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest Plan protected five non-motorized backcountry r e

w and three recommended wilderness areas in the Flints and Lost Creek Canyon, as well as o P in wild areas found along the Continental Divide in the Pintlers, Highlands, Whitetail- a e r

d O’Neil, and Electric Peak. n A • In 2010, the BLM converted Scratchgravel Hills north of Helena into a non-motorized trail area, similar to the popular South Hills. • In 2012, eight miles of logging roads in Twin Lakes Creek were permanently IT’S TIME FOR CONGRESS TO STOP TREATING rehabilitated into single-track bike trails leading to (lower) Four Mile Basin and Twin Lakes, OUR TRAILS LIKE DIRT an area adjoining the Pintler Wilderness. • In 2013, the Pintler Ranger District completed restoration of non-motorized single- Montana Wilderness Association works hard to help land managers maintain trail access track trails lost to neglect in beautiful Lost Creek Canyon north of Anaconda. to and through unforgettable places, from the Bob Marshall Wilderness to Yellowstone • In 2016, the Helena Ranger District’s final Divide Travel Plan classified 28 miles of the National Park and many other places between and beyond. Through our CDT Montana The partnership has Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and five wild mountain tracts along the divide as program, MWA is focused on maintaining and constructing the northern third of the worked together non-motorized. Additionally, the Divide Plan authorizes the construction of 14 miles of new Continental Divide Trail, which extends 1,000 miles through a remarkable terrain that with the shared single-track Continental Divide Trail, to be managed for non-motorized uses, including we call our backyard. understanding mountain biking and stock. Unfortunately, Montana’s trail tradition, including the CDT, is under threat and, as a that there is room As with snowmobiles and four-wheelers, new technology has allowed bicyclists to result, our access to wild places is endangered. for both more penetrate deeper into remote wild country than previously imagined, often on trails built Since 2009, Congress has reduced Forest Service budgets by 48% overall in Region 1, wilderness and primarily for foot and horseback. A hardline segment of the mountain biking community the region that manages all 10 national forests in Montana. These budget cuts have more mountain now believe they’re entitled to ride all trails, even through areas the Forest Service has created real consequences at the local level, where trail crews have shrunk to a vanishing biking in Montana. recommended for wilderness. point in some districts during tough years. And if we continue to “borrow” from trails But as the MHDT budgets to pay for wildfire in the future, our well for trail funding will run completely dry. partnership demonstrates, We need all three members of Montana's congressional delegation to help make our Montana is a big state with trails a national priority by giving the Forest Service the funding it needs and deserves plenty of room to expand to do its job. This work requires a long-term effort, but there are some initial steps that mountain biking opportunities Congress can take this year, which include passing these three pieces of legislation: and still have places where • Wildfire Disaster Funding Act: This would separate fire funding from recreation we can experience the funding, alleviating the need to rob Peter to pay Paul during high-cost fire seasons. untrammeled wild. We need our delegation to work together to pass a clean version of the bill as soon For more information as possible. about Montana High Divide • National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act: This would allow agency partners Trails, contact me at and outfitters to more easily assist in trail maintenance, freeing up agency crews to work [email protected] or on other projects that volunteers might not be able to handle. at 406-443-7350, ext. 106. • Recreation's Economic Contribution Act: This would require the federal government to measure the outdoor recreation industry’s impact on the U.S. economy by –John Gatchell, counting recreation spending as part of our Gross Domestic Product. We can't expect our public lands policy director great outdoors to become a national priority when our nation fails to accurately measure the economic impact of outdoor recreation.

–Shannon Freix, CDT Montana program director

12 WILD MONTANA SPRING 2016 13 MEMBERS MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE UPDATES FROM THE FIELD Thanks to the new members who joined Montana Wilderness Association from January 20 to April 20, 2016.

BUTTE BEAVERHEAD Russ Heaton Johanna Monson SHINING MOUNTAINS OUT OF STATE AREA Varr Heaton Geerts CHAPTER Stephen Bendit Ivy Fredrickson Jon Jeresek Jerry Ness Nancy Adams Scott Brubaker Lydia Janosko Max Laughlin Robert Pace Will Ballew Diana Canterbury Jill Kolb Chuck Manning Colene Parker Sally Barnes Celeste & Eric Grace Janette Reget Tim Mushkin Brandi Pitt Sue Brownlow Gregory Harris Karen & Kevin Vaughn Joy Pattengale Janet Sedlack Tim Dye Robin Harvey Sonya Petersen Xavier Springer Megan Eandi David Hunt EASTERN WILDLANDS Peter & Nancy Rose Steve Theisen Brea Engel Lowell Jacobson CHAPTER Robert Saint-Louis LaVonne Walker Rachel Garwin Jim Kouf Don Carroll Eric Smart Ann Warhank Michael Halm Kathryn Levine & Traute Parrie Danielle Spillman Emily Wilson Candace Halvorson Silvia Montevecchi Erin Dickey Linda Stoverud Glenn Deuchler John Kirkendall Alfred Munksgard Mary Fitzgerald Linda Thomas Viki Gallagher Luke Lamar Kristina Phillips Jeremy Frisk Helen Tyree Jennie Garramon Linda Pilsworth Ben Pitterle Deb & Mark Jenny Rohrer Melissa Puglisi Johnerson ISLAND RANGE MADISON-GALLATIN Donald Schriefer Holly Spooner Laurie Moe CHAPTER CHAPTER Kate Supplee & Russell Fletcher Jay Morton Julie Arnold Scott Abrams The Sproull Family Michael Wilt e l a Steve Nicodemus Ann Baker Karen Boich Chris Vance Kathy Winscot H

r Carolyn Torske Jamie Barnes Jim Cunningham e t

x Rosalyn Weiss Elaine Becker Carol Filson WILD DIVIDE We also thank our e

D Marci Brodock Graham Goff CHAPTER corporate sponsors, FLATHEAD-KOOTENAI Julie Dennis Rick Hixson Cathy Bakeberg including: CHAPTER Michael & Paivi Barbie Huber Barbara Belt James Avila Duchemin Dillon Kouf Jennifer Brunsdon Trail 103.3 BIG SNOWIES: THE WILDEST OF MONTANA’S Thomas & Tomi Tianna Ford James Leighton Heather Greene DA Davidson ISLAND RANGES Briggeman Anita Gazzerro Noah Marion Duane Harp The Base Camp Stephanie Campbell Valerie Gorecki Grace Matelich Gloria Lambertz Advanced Litho Printing Danielle Coffman Andrew Guschausky Patrick McGunagle Jeana Lantz Mystery Ranch Among all the island ranges in central Montana, the Big Snowies stands out as being more Angel Dominguez Bryn Hagfors Cheryl McNicholas Mary Maddox Dick Anderson intact and wilder than any other. Gene Dziza Ted Hogeland Denise Montgomery John & Nancy Podolinsky Construction Michael Fraleigh Linda Kay & Mike Richter Located south of Lewistown, this island of rounded ridge tops and deep canyons rises Bonnie Jensen Alexander Moore Great Falls Clinic Walking across Mary Freniere Ray & Michelle Kelly Casey Norris Victoria Ries Historic Hotel Arvon out of the prairie. Walking across the highest ridge that divides the range, you can see Grete Gansauer Cathy Kuntz Dennis Olley Ann Seifert Linnell, Newhall, the highest ridge more than 200 miles across an expansive landscape. Along the way you’ll likely come Amy Gordon Susan Lohmuller Pamela Schiffer Cliff Sheets Martin & Schulke, P.C. that divides the across ice caves, fossils, and evidence of human use dating back thousands of years. David Madison Dustin Tetrault Jan Vanriper Thirsty Lake Solar range, you can Elizabeth Walton Complementing the Big Snowy Wilderness Study Area is a “research natural area,” a see morre than federal designation created to protect rare plants. The Big Snowy WSA is adjoined by the 200 miles across Twin Coulees WSA (6,870-acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management), as well as an expansive by four small, roadless areas together covering 9,000 acres. We’re urging the Forest landscape. Service to recommend most of the Big Snowy WSA and adjoining roadless areas for wilderness designation. Fearing that the Big Snowy Mountains could gradually lose much of their wilderness character, visionary Senator Lee Metcalf included most of the Big Snowies (88,000 acres) in the1977 Montana Wilderness Study Act. The act requires the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest to manage the WSA in a manner that will protect its wilderness characteristics until Congress determines whether or not to designate it as Wilderness. The old 1986 Lewis and Clark National Forest management plan did not recommend the Big Snowy WSA for Wilderness, but over the years most of the uses conflicting with wilderness management have disappeared, thanks to travel management and resource development decisions. Now, the newly combined Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest is revising the old management plan and will again consider whether to recommend the Montana Wilderness Association is Council members serve as MWA ambassadors, WSA for Wilderness. led by its State Council. Every year share networks, take leadership roles, engage in Only Congress can designate an area as Wilderness, but without a recommendation, we nominate new members to join philanthropic giving, and have a statewide the Big Snowy WSA remains vulnerable to attempts by Congress to release the area as a this leadership team. perspective. We are business owners, students, WSA. With most non-compatible use issues resolved, we have an opportunity through the teachers, accountants, techies, and retirees. forest plan revision process to obtain a wilderness recommendation and take an important The State Council is a diverse and effective group of We’re into hiking, camping, hunting, birding, fishing, step towards permanent protection for this unique landscape. volunteers who bring relevant skills and experiences horseback riding, backpacking, photography, and a To learn more and see central Montana’s wildest island range for yourself, sign-up for to MWA’s work of protecting Montana’s public host of other outdoor activities. We love wilderness, this summer’s Wilderness Walks in the Big Snowies. And if you want to get involved in the wildlands. Desirable skills include: and we work together to make sure MWA is the • Helena-Lewis and Clark Forest plan, please contact me at [email protected] or at Previous experience on governance boards best possible organization it can be. • Finance experience 406-453-9434. • Political experience or connections To learn more, contact Daphne Herling at • Fundraising experience or connections [email protected] or 406-531-8347. –Mark Good, central Montana field director • Community connections

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Montana Wilderness Association Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage 80 S. Warren, Helena, MT 59601 PAID Permit #151 Great Falls, MT