SEELEY LAKE – This past August the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project released an economic report highlighting how public lands and water sustain the economy of the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys and nearby communities. There has also been a recent ad campaign launched by the Montana Wilderness Association and Mountain Mamas calling on Senator Steve Daines, R – Montana, to give the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
While Daines is being pressured to support the BCSA reintroduced by Senator Jon Tester, D – Montana, in 2019, the opposition to the BCSA is also taking a stand. The Citizens for Balanced Use (CBU) placed advertisements in many regional newspapers in an effort to provide information about what Wilderness is and what Wilderness is not. The group strongly opposes the BCSA because it restricts access to public lands, prevents active forest management, limits fire suppression activities and further restricts multiple use recreation.
Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act
The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project started more than 15 years ago from a collaborative effort of ranchers, logger, timber companies, outfitters, local citizens, businesses and state/federal agencies in the Seeley Lake area. The Project provided for forest restoration activities and timber harvest, the development of additional recreational trails and the designation of additional Wilderness on public land adjacent to the existing Mission Mountains, Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness areas.
Since 2009, Tester secured $19 million in federal funding to implement much of the restoration and timber harvest originally designated in the Upper Blackfoot-Clearwater Valley as a part of his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.
In February 2017, at the request of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project and with the support of the local timber industry, Tester introduced the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act which included three components: timber, recreation and conservation. The timber provisions were completed from 2010-2018 through the Southwest Crown Collaborative producing 60 million board feet of timber, $33 million investment into the local economy through timber sale, stewardship and restoration and $19 million in federal investments.
Implementation of the BCSA would complete the recreation and Wilderness designations that were included in the original forest management agreement between the local collaborators.
It would add 79,000 acres of Wilderness to the Mission Mountains, Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Areas permanently protecting the North Fork, Monture Creek, Morrell Creek and the West Fork of the Clearwater, all tributaries to the Blackfoot River.
“My business absolutely depends on the Blackfoot River remaining cold, connected and clean,” Tony Reinhardt, owner of Montana Trout Outfitters in Missoula, said in a press release. He has offered guiding services on the Blackfoot for more than 20 years. “These are the conditions that trout need to thrive, and in turn bring anglers from around the world to fish this legendary river. By permanently protecting the Blackfoot’s key tributaries, the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act is helping ensure that not only trout populations in the Blackfoot River thrive, but that my business does as well.”
North of Ovando, the BCSA would create the Otasty Recreation Area that would expand snowmobiling in 2,013 acres of land and establish the Spread Mountain Recreation Area opening up 3,800 acres for mountain biking and hiking.
Finally the bill would require the Forest Service to prioritize its review of future recreational trail proposals from the collaborative group and to conduct a forest health assessment that will help identify new timber projects on the landscape.
Tester testified in support of the bill before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Committee) in February 2018 but it never made it through Congress. He reintroduced the bill in 2019. The Act has not received another hearing or markup in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
On Aug. 11, 2020 Tester sent a letter to Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Committee Member Joe Manchin requesting a hearing for the BCSA. Tester wrote the BCSA is “a natural next step after Congress has heavily invested in its public lands through the Great American Outdoors Act…This balanced, collaborative approach to forest management will help permanently protect the landscape and the outdoor economy that thrives on these lands.”
Prior to Tester’s request, the Montana Wilderness Association, Montana Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, Business for Montana’s Outdoors, Mountain Mamas, and the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers also sent a letter to Daines, member of the Committee, requesting a hearing. A press release dated Sept. 1 stated they have yet to receive a response.
Amidst the push to get a hearing for the BCSA in Committee, the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project released an economic report entitled “Now Is the Time.”
“Now is the time to protect our waterways, our wildlife, our access, our jobs and our future,” reads the report. “We’ve done the work. It’s time to act.”
The report is a compilation of statistics, testimonies and a list of supporters promoting the protection of lands and waters in the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys. The report states the BCSA is “an insurance policy for our public lands, health and outdoor recreation economy. The BCSA will also help restore and protect the outdoor recreation economy that the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys have depended on for decades, an economy based largely on fishing, hunting, boating and wildlife viewing.”
“We spent well over a decade ensuring that this legislative proposal is the best it can be for the widest spectrum of Montanans possible and we spent another couple of years vetting the proposal across the state,” Addrien Marx, member of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project, president of Montana Wilderness Association and a former Seeley Lake business owner, said in a press release. “Now is the time for Sen. Daines to do his and join Sen. Tester in getting this bill passed.”
Citizens for Balanced Use
Citizens for Balanced Use (CBU) was founded in December 2004. Its mission is “working to preserve and protect our last remaining areas open to multiple use recreation in Western Montana and throughout the Rocky Mountain Region while advocating for active forest management and responsible resource development on our federally managed public lands.” They have advocated for more open space for recreation through education and working with all branches of government.
CBU strongly opposes the BCSA calling it “nothing more than a Wilderness land grab with no benefit to multiple use recreation.”
Wilderness, as defined by the Wilderness Act of 1964, is “recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” To preserve wild characteristics, the Wilderness designation prohibits roads, road construction, motorized travel and the use of mechanized equipment. Wilderness also excludes extractive industries such as mining, logging and grazing and restricts firefighting activities. Travel is almost solely limited to on foot or by horseback allowing limited outfitter guide services, backcountry airstrips and activities necessary for the management of the area.
CBU Executive Director Kerry White said marketing has painted an inaccurate picture of Wilderness showing the latest jeep traveling through the rugged expanse of ‘wilderness’ and families bringing their campers and camping in the ‘wilderness.’
“In Wilderness you can’t drive your jeep,” said White. “People don’t really understand the difference between Wilderness and non-Wilderness lands and what they can and can’t do on these lands.”
CBU makes several additional points regarding Wilderness.
First, Wilderness only supports the most primitive types of recreation. As people age, if they are disabled, or those that are very young, White said are not physically capable of enjoying the Wilderness. Also the financial means and time available to hike or pack for days is the Wilderness is a luxury afforded to only a few.
Based on the National Forest Visitor Use Survey from 2006, only 3% of the public who use National Forest lands reported using Wilderness. That increased to 4.8% in the 2012-2016 Visitor Use Survey across the Nation and is about 6.4% for Forest Service Region 1 which includes all of Montana.
While White recognizes that Wilderness use has doubled, he pointed to the July 2014 report of UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research that showed from 2007 to 2013 Off Highway Vehicle use quadrupled and from 2006 to 2013 there was an 81% increase in snowmobile registration in Montana.
“All outdoor recreation is increasing but access to public land for multiple use recreation for motorized and mechanized use is decreasing,” said White. “The vast majority of users are not using Wilderness.”
Of the 25,157,000 acres of National Forest Land in Region 1, nearly six million acres are designated Wilderness and over nine million are designated roadless in 2017-2018. In the report to support House Joint Resolution No. 13 in 2015-2016, the Environmental Quality Council reported since the mid-1990s, about 21,951 miles of Forest Services roads in Montana have been closed to motorized use.
“If we have lost 21,951 miles of road in Montana, where are all of these families with kids and people with their campers, cars and their tents going out in the forest to recreate?” asked White adding 60% of Montana’s public lands are already restricted. “When you see less places to go, it puts more pressure and more adverse impacts on those areas that remain open.”
Second, while Wilderness provides a home for wildlife, it cannot be managed for them and is constantly changing. And third, Wilderness does not confine its natural processes within its political boundary allowing insect outbreaks and wildfires to affect surrounding lands. Because Wilderness prevents any active fuel management, White claims there will be more catastrophic fires and destruction.
“When you create Wilderness, you are taking away a recreational opportunity to the vast majority of the public, restricting that area to ever be enjoyed by these people again because once you put it into Wilderness, it is never coming out,” said White. “Never once in these collaboratives have the environmental groups said we will take this out of Wilderness if you will allow us to put these area in Wilderness. It is never a trade. The motorized and mechanized users, 94% of the recreating public, always lose.”
White calls it “slick advertising” on the part of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project claiming they have set aside desirable area for snowmobiling and great mountain biking.
Himself an avid snowmobiler, White said a large portion of the Otatsy Recreation Area is an avalanche area and is very dangerous to snowmobile, even for expert riders. Having lost three close friends to avalanches, he said he wouldn’t ride in there.
The mountain biking trail that will be open on Spread Mountain White said is steep, loose, rocky, unmaintained and is not sustainable. He claimed the best trail for mountain biking in the area was included in the Wilderness designation.
“Why do we have to go straight to Wilderness when we could create a congressionally designated National Recreation Area that would support motorized and mechanized use,” said White. “Environmentalist and Wilderness supporters say they will support something like that, but they never tell you where they would support it.”
Wilderness support
The Economic Report released by the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project states 75% of Montanans support the BCSA. This percentage came from the 2020 University of Montana Statewide Survey conducted by New Bridge Strategy/FM3 Research after responding whether they support or oppose the following statement, “The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project in western Montana would ensure access to hunting and fishing sites, increasing protections for approximately 80,000 acres of existing public lands by adding them to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountains Wilderness areas; open a high-quality area for snowmobiling, and maintain timber harvesting.”
Another question in the Statewide Survey garnered 71% support after respondents were asked, “Increasing protections on National Forest lands in western Montana, near the town of Lincoln, by promoting forest restoration, protecting existing snowmobile access and providing a better trail system for motorized recreation and mountain bikes to help avoid conflicts with local property owners. The proposal would add 55,000 acres of Wilderness in the headwaters of the Big Blackfoot River, including additions to the Scapegoat Wilderness and exclude new mining and oil and gas development for around one hundred and twenty thousand acres mostly along the Continental Divide and in the Blackfoot River’s headwaters.”
However the Montana Business Leadership Council reported in their 2011 statewide survey conducted by 47 North Communications and Opinion Diagnostics of 400 likely Montana voters that 48% of voters opposed new Wilderness legislation and 42% supported it when asked, “Thinking now about Wilderness land in Montana, Senator Jon Tester recently worked to pass legislation that would have created nearly one million acres of new Wilderness in Montana. While his bill failed to pass this Congress, some Montanans are working to bring new Wilderness bills to Congress after the first of the year. Knowing this, would you support or oppose legislation to permanently designate more public land in Montana as Wilderness in the upcoming Congress?”
Survey respondents’ opposition grew to 52% and support dropped to 32% when asked, “Some Montanans say that Wilderness designation permanently removes multiple-use access for seniors, individuals with disabilities, campers and family recreationists. They also say that it would inhibit Montana job creation by ending any new development of Montana-made energy, prevent Montana loggers from removing dangerous, overgrown fuels and limit ranchers’ ability to effectively graze livestock.”
“That is not a deceiving description like what they are using in the [2020 UM Survey] where loggers are going to have all the logs they need and snowmobilers and bicyclers get a great place,” said White. “This is a generic explanation of what Wilderness is. It restricts seniors, individuals with disabilities, campers and family recreationists.”
White also highlighted 71% of 500 surveyed voters in a Montana Statewide survey by Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates (FM3 Research) in April 2018 opposed more Wilderness. The question he deemed honest and fair read, “Just three percent of Montana lands are currently dedicated as Wilderness areas. Knowing this, would you support or oppose dedicating additional, existing public lands as Wilderness areas here in Montana?”
White also questioned the BCSA’s list of more than 160 supporters. While he is aware that one of the groups that was listed as a supporter was removed after they sent a letter to the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Committee, another group sent a letter rescinding their support and their name is still listed. There are also others like the Ovando Snowmobile Club that White doesn’t even think exist.
Ted Brewer, Montana Wilderness Association communications director, acknowledged that one group rescinded their support in March 2020. However he is not aware of any other groups, individuals or businesses that have asked that their support be removed and the request was not honored.
“Businesses change owners, organizations change leaders and if we ever receive a letter asking for their support to be rescinded, we will honor that,” said Brewer.
Economic benefit
The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project’s Economic Report included several statistics reported by the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) in their 2017 Outdoor Recreation Economy report. OIA highlights that $7.1 billion was generated by Montana’s outdoor recreation economy in 2017, there were 71,000 jobs supported by Montana’s recreation economy and $286 million was received in state and local tax revenue. Anglers spent almost $1 billion and hunters spent almost $400 million.
“The Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited was created in 1987 with the purpose of restoring this iconic cold water fishery by working with diverse partners and private landowners to preserve the working landscapes and critical habitats that sustain the health of the watershed. Thanks to an investment of over $15 million and more than 750 restoration projects, the Blackfoot and its tributaries are once again thriving with wild, native trout,” Clayton Elliott, Conservation and Government Director for Montana Trout Unlimited, was quoted saying in the Project’s Economic Report. “The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act will provide meaningful protections for the critical habitats that partners have invested in restoring as well as ensuring access and sustaining the Valley’s rural heritage and recreational economy.”
White disagrees that Wilderness designation for the headwaters of the Blackfoot River is the best option for maintaining the fish populations and angling opportunities being promoted by the BCSA. He said Wilderness prohibits actively managing fuels and federal agencies typically allow wildfires to burn in Wilderness. High intensity wildfires in an area cause increased levels of sedimentation, a main contributor to reduced water quality.
“If we want to protect water quality, we MUST manage our forest fuel loads and Wilderness will not allow these projects,” said White.
White feels the economic data used to support the BCSA is flawed due to the omission of potential economic benefit. While the report shows a huge economic benefit of creating more Wilderness in the Seeley Lake area, it ignores the potential timber receipts that could be provided and the increased use and value of motorized and mechanized users that could occur in that area if it was not turned into Wilderness.
“They are not accounting for the potential if we reduced litigation costs,” said White. “If we were able to expedite [timber] projects and move them forward, we would be able to get this fuel load reduced, decrease our fire fighting costs and the economic costs of massive and catastrophic fires and the risk to public health and safety.”
In a study published in Environmental Trends June, 2011, Issue 1 called “The Economic Costs of Wilderness,” Brian C. Steed, Ryan M. Yonk and Randy Simmons of Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University reported that while some Wilderness can have positive economic impacts, they found it is not the general rule. While controlling for other types of federally held land and additional factors impacting economic conditions, the study showed a drop of nearly $1,500 in average household income, a loss of $37,500 in payroll and $92,910 less in county tax receipts within Wilderness counties compared to non-Wilderness counties.
“While there may be other legitimate, non-economic reasons for the designation of Wilderness, the tradeoff will likely impose an economic burden on local families and businesses,” a conclusion stated in the study. “The benefits and costs from Wilderness are unevenly distributed between local and non-local communities, with local communities incurring a larger burden of the costs.”
Common sense solution
Tester touts the BCSA as a “common-sense bill” in his editorial run last week in the Pathfinder.
“It would create more opportunities for Montanans who have found solace in the outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing more folks to get out of cell range and do what makes them happy from a social distance—whether it’s hunting, angling, backpacking, snowmobiling, mountain biking or anything else under the sun,” wrote Tester.
Brewer added it would be difficult to find another bill that has 75% of Montanans supporting it.
White is not arguing with the Economic Report’s statistics that say 89% of Montanans say protecting public lands is important for their quality of life or 86% of Montanans say protecting public lands is important for tourism.
“All I’m saying is 89% of Montanans don’t recreate in Wilderness,” said White.
CBU and several other organizations have advocated for other Congress-designated alternative designations besides Wilderness including National Recreation Area, National Conservation Area and National Protection Area. Congress can still place limitations on these areas but they remain open for motorized and mechanized use, active forest management and preserve existing infrastructure. White said he is more than willing to sit down with anyone to discuss alternative land use designations.
“People come to Montana for public land, recreation and access. But only 6% of the public coming to Montana to recreate are for Wilderness,” said White. “The big demand is for multiple use recreation. They are not walking from Seeley Lake to the Blackfoot River to go fishing. They are driving. When they get there, they need a parking lot and a trail to get to the river.”
For more information about the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project visit http://blackfootclearwater.org/. For more information about CBU visit https://balanceduse.org/
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