Lattés may be as common as lariats in today's Montana. And its easy to see what keeps the natives and lures newcomers: spaces that give real meaning to the words "wide" and "open;" and wildness on a scale mostly gone from much of the lower 48 states, including the Bob Marshall wilderness and two premier National Parks, Yellowstone and Glacier. Troubled species such as the grizzly and gray wolf also roam Montana. So does trouble, in the shape of some of the most pressing land conservation issues in the nation.
Rocky Mountain Front
In the waning hours of the 109th Congress, lawmakers took the crucial steps needed to pass legislation that will ban future oil and gas leasing on 400,000 acres of National Forest and BLM lands along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front.
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The Montana Legacy Project
The Wilderness Society commends the efforts of Montana Senator Max Baucus, The Trust for Public Land and The Nature Conservancy in the 320,000 acre conservation purchase of Plum Creek Timber land in western Montana and hopes this will become a model for protecting private timber and agricultural lands throughout America.
>> More about the Project
Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument
The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Central Montana protects a landscape remarkably unchanged since the Lewis and Clark expedition passed through it 200 years ago. Whether it remains that way depends on how the Monument is managed, and the management blueprint is now underway. The Wilderness Society and its conservation partners have been working to ensure that the management plan provides a strong framework for protecting the monument's exceptional values.
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Forest Travel Plans: Chance to Throttle Back Motors in the Backcountry
The U.S. Forest Service is developing new travel management plans for Montana's Gallatin and Lewis and Clark National Forests. The plans offer an opportunity to protect important habitat and world-class recreational resources by halting intrusions of new roads and trails that continue to dice up the backcountry.
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The Value of Roadless Areas
Permanently protecting roadless areas across the Northern Rockies is crucial to preserving the wide diversity of animals and plants found in the region, according to new analysis by The Wilderness Society. The study found that roadless lands serve as "bridges" connecting conservation lands needed by wide-ranging wildlife like bears and elk, and as building blocks for larger areas crucial to native species such as bighorn sheep and golden eagles.
>> More on the new study
Yellowstone to Yukon: A Bold Vision
From Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon Territory, the Rocky Mountains are one of the world's most loved and celebrated mountain ranges. Both the U.S. and Canadian national park systems were born there. Conservationists from both nations have come together to protect this unique mountain ecosystem, its wildlife and the quality of life of its people.
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