Montana Wilderness Association
Encyclopedia
The Montana Wilderness Association was founded in 1958 by Montana
volunteers and is governed by a state council of citizen volunteers from across the state, elected by the membership. As a community-based organization, it works at the local level through seven chapters and field offices in Bozeman
, Choteau, Dillon
, Great Falls
, Helena
and Kalispell
. Each chapter is governed by a local board of directors.
and in the designation of every Wilderness area in the state, like the Bob Marshall
, Scapegoat
, and Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
es. It also helped win Wild and Scenic designations for the Missouri
and Flathead
rivers, and National Monument status for the Upper Missouri River Breaks
.
Origin
The Montana Wilderness Association was founded in 1958 by Ken and Florence Baldwin. The grassroots organization’s mission was to preserve wilderness and influence policy on public land management. Initially the association contained a group of individuals all with the goals to protect the heritage of Montana land and the proper management of public lands. The group was inspired by similar wilderness oriented individuals and associations around the nation at the time. John Muir has recently founded the Sierra Club and was very active in protecting Yosemite; Aldo Leopold wrote about the ethics involved in conservation and was a co-founder of the Wilderness Society; Bob Marshall wrote several essays about conservation in forestry publications and was also a founder of the Wilderness Society. The MWA is the nation’s premiere Wilderness grassroots organization and was significantly influential in the passing of the Wilderness Act by Lyndon Johnson in 1964. With the passing of this Act came the designation of the Montana’s first Wilderness. The state and nation’s first was the Bob Marshal along with the Cabinet Mountains, the Gates of the Mountains, the Selway-Bitterroot, and Anaconda Pintler.
----
1964 – President Lyndon Johnson signs Wilderness Act creating Montana Wilderness Areas such as the Bob Marshall, Cabinet Mountains, Gates of the Mountains, Selway-Bitterroot, and Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.
1972 – Congress designates the Lincoln-Scapegoat Wilderness proposed by MWA members. This marks the first time an area is recommended by someone other than the U.S. Forest Service. Because the MWA activists proposed the idea this wilderness is also known as the “first citizen’s wilderness.”
1976-1978 – MWA members secure designations for the Great Bear, Rattlesnake, Absaroka-Beartooth, Mission Mountains, Welcome Creek, UL Bend, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes areas.
1981 – Montana Wilderness members counter attack the “Bomb the Bob” attack along with other National conservation groups, a plan to retrieve oil and gas from the Bob Marshal Wilderness. The Bob Marshal is host to a large percentage of remaining grizzly bears in Montana and is a large elk habitat as well.
1983 – Lee Metcalf Wilderness is designated. This Wilderness protects much of the diverse Yellowstone ecosystem along with a large potion of the Madison mountain range.
1984 – A proposal called “Montana Wilderness Axe” introduced to protect only 750,000 of Montana’s six million acres (24,000 km²) of national forest is shut down with help from MWA members
1988 – The last wilderness bill passes Congress but President Reagan pocket-vetoed the bill. Reagan vetoed the bill as a favor to elect Senator Conrad Burns.
1994 – MWA members lead an attempt at another Wilderness bill. Montana representative led the way and the bill passed in the House. Conversely, neither senator supported the bill and it was not considered in the Senate. Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Conrad Burns were senators at this time.
2003 – Members again lead an act to protect Wilderness Study Areas. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court stated the U.S. Forest Service has a legal obligation to keep the wild character of seven wilderness study areas in Montana. The Lewis and Clark National Forest proposed a controversial Rocky Mountain Front Travel Plan which would allow motorized travel in the area. However, the MWA helped generate, tally, and analyze 7600 comments on the plan and it was dumped.
2007 – The MWA participated in Blackfoot Cooperative Landscape Stewardship Pilot Project, a plan that added 87000 acres (352.1 km²) to the Bob Marshal/Scapegoat/Mission Mountains Wilderness complex.
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
volunteers and is governed by a state council of citizen volunteers from across the state, elected by the membership. As a community-based organization, it works at the local level through seven chapters and field offices in Bozeman
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
, Choteau, Dillon
Dillon, Montana
- Notable residents :* Ed Barker - NFL wide receiver - Washington Redskins* Cree Paul - [Where is she now?]* Charles Xavier Larrabee - owner of the nearby stock ranch Brooknook.* Lloyd Meeds - Politician, lobbyist, and navy officer....
, Great Falls
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
, Helena
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
and Kalispell
Kalispell, Montana
Kalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2010 census put Kalispell's population at 19,927 up 5,704 over 2000. At 40.1% this is the largest percentage of growth of any incorporated city in Montana. Kalispell is the largest city and commercial center...
. Each chapter is governed by a local board of directors.
Background and directives
Since 1958, the Montana Wilderness Association has worked to protect Montana’s wilderness, wildlife habitat, and traditional recreation opportunities. The organization was instrumental in the passage of the 1964 Wilderness ActWilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed...
and in the designation of every Wilderness area in the state, like the Bob Marshall
Bob Marshall Wilderness
The Bob Marshall Wilderness is a wilderness area in Flathead National Forest of western Montana in the United States. It is named after Bob Marshall , an early forester, conservationist, and co-founder of The Wilderness Society. The Bob Marshall Wilderness extends for 60 miles along the...
, Scapegoat
Scapegoat Wilderness
The Scapegoat Wilderness consists of 239,936 acres spread across three different National Forests in the U.S. state of Montana. Created by an act of Congress in 1972, the wilderness is located in Lewis and Clark, Helena and Lolo National Forests...
, and Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness was created from existing National Forest lands in 1975 and is located in Montana and Wyoming, United States. The wilderness is partly in Gallatin, Custer and Shoshone National Forests and is composed of . The wilderness encompasses two distinct mountain ranges, namely...
es. It also helped win Wild and Scenic designations for the Missouri
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
and Flathead
Flathead River
The Flathead River, in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana, originates in the Rocky Mountains near Glacier National Park and flows southwest into Flathead Lake, then after a journey of , empties into the Clark Fork. The river is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, as the Clark...
rivers, and National Monument status for the Upper Missouri River Breaks
Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument
This article is about the location. For the film, see The Missouri Breaks.The Missouri Breaks is located in central Montana, U.S. and is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management under the full title of Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument...
.
Origin
The Montana Wilderness Association was founded in 1958 by Ken and Florence Baldwin. The grassroots organization’s mission was to preserve wilderness and influence policy on public land management. Initially the association contained a group of individuals all with the goals to protect the heritage of Montana land and the proper management of public lands. The group was inspired by similar wilderness oriented individuals and associations around the nation at the time. John Muir has recently founded the Sierra Club and was very active in protecting Yosemite; Aldo Leopold wrote about the ethics involved in conservation and was a co-founder of the Wilderness Society; Bob Marshall wrote several essays about conservation in forestry publications and was also a founder of the Wilderness Society. The MWA is the nation’s premiere Wilderness grassroots organization and was significantly influential in the passing of the Wilderness Act by Lyndon Johnson in 1964. With the passing of this Act came the designation of the Montana’s first Wilderness. The state and nation’s first was the Bob Marshal along with the Cabinet Mountains, the Gates of the Mountains, the Selway-Bitterroot, and Anaconda Pintler.
----
Accomplishments
1958 – Ken and Florence Baldwin found Montana Wilderness Association. The MWA was the nation’s first state organization centered around protecting wilderness and the proper management of public lands1964 – President Lyndon Johnson signs Wilderness Act creating Montana Wilderness Areas such as the Bob Marshall, Cabinet Mountains, Gates of the Mountains, Selway-Bitterroot, and Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.
1972 – Congress designates the Lincoln-Scapegoat Wilderness proposed by MWA members. This marks the first time an area is recommended by someone other than the U.S. Forest Service. Because the MWA activists proposed the idea this wilderness is also known as the “first citizen’s wilderness.”
1976-1978 – MWA members secure designations for the Great Bear, Rattlesnake, Absaroka-Beartooth, Mission Mountains, Welcome Creek, UL Bend, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes areas.
1981 – Montana Wilderness members counter attack the “Bomb the Bob” attack along with other National conservation groups, a plan to retrieve oil and gas from the Bob Marshal Wilderness. The Bob Marshal is host to a large percentage of remaining grizzly bears in Montana and is a large elk habitat as well.
1983 – Lee Metcalf Wilderness is designated. This Wilderness protects much of the diverse Yellowstone ecosystem along with a large potion of the Madison mountain range.
1984 – A proposal called “Montana Wilderness Axe” introduced to protect only 750,000 of Montana’s six million acres (24,000 km²) of national forest is shut down with help from MWA members
1988 – The last wilderness bill passes Congress but President Reagan pocket-vetoed the bill. Reagan vetoed the bill as a favor to elect Senator Conrad Burns.
1994 – MWA members lead an attempt at another Wilderness bill. Montana representative led the way and the bill passed in the House. Conversely, neither senator supported the bill and it was not considered in the Senate. Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Conrad Burns were senators at this time.
2003 – Members again lead an act to protect Wilderness Study Areas. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court stated the U.S. Forest Service has a legal obligation to keep the wild character of seven wilderness study areas in Montana. The Lewis and Clark National Forest proposed a controversial Rocky Mountain Front Travel Plan which would allow motorized travel in the area. However, the MWA helped generate, tally, and analyze 7600 comments on the plan and it was dumped.
2007 – The MWA participated in Blackfoot Cooperative Landscape Stewardship Pilot Project, a plan that added 87000 acres (352.1 km²) to the Bob Marshal/Scapegoat/Mission Mountains Wilderness complex.