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 process is instilling ownership of the result to all who were involved.
The BCSA balances both the concepts of multiple use management in certain areas and wilderness values in others. The method of collaboration was the architect of that balance. And regarding wilderness designation, some individuals and groups wanted more and some wanted none. This bill is a compromise reached through negotiated effort by the diverse groups involved
I drafted this letter while parked at Browns Lake near Ovando, where I could look directly into the peaks of the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Areas. And as I was sitting there, a bald eagle landed on the still frozen lake about 100 feet from fishermen, each representing community and conservation.
Reader Comments(0)