Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act Supports Collaboration and Balanced Use

Ovando, Mont. rancher Jim Stone said it best when he mentioned “neighbors working together” to craft the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project which has resulted in introduction of the bill to create the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA). And he’s referred to “conservation and community.”

To me, that is the essence of the BCSA: a community of diverse interests coming together to negotiate a conservation effort. That truly is “conservation and community.”

Is the BCSA perfect? No. But if it were, then negotiation would not have been needed and a prime virtue of that negotiation proc...