"Sportsmen Urge For Continuing Strong Protection of Roadless Areas - Roadless areas are the key to Montana’s world-class hunting."

As the autumn rite of hunting season commences, hunters gathered in Missoula on Thursday to strongly urge for continued protection of Forest Service roadless areas; critical lands for Montana’s world-class hunting heritage. Montana Wildlife Federation, Montana’s oldest and largest in-state organization of hunters, anglers, and conservationists, sponsored a Press Conference to explore hunters and anglers views regarding the current administration’s intentions to weaken roadless area protections instituted in 2001 as the Roadless Area Conservation Act. The event held at the Missoula Public Library drew out the passions and commitment of Montana sportsmen to Montana’s roadless areas and the benefits afforded by protecting this last remaining 11.9% of Montana’s wildlands.

The Department of Agriculture/US Forest Service is considering throwing away policies that protected roadless forests from development across the country. Included are some 6 million acres of Montana’s National Forest,
including popular hunting and fishing areas in the Bitterroot, the Kootenai and the Rocky Mountain Front.

Stan Rauch of Victor, Natural Trails and Waters Coalition Coordinator, chaired the Conference and described the situation at hand by stating:” Our big concern, those sportsmen who care, is that the danger exists to significantly diminish the values of roadless areas. Our intention is to generate one million comments from concerned sportsmen and send them to Washington.”

John Grove, a retired forester from Stevensville accented those concerns by relating a long-standing family tradition of hunting in roadless areas. “My grandson and I will hunt those same areas this year. The challenge of
the topography, the vistas, and the value of solitude lives in our Montana species dependant on these roadless areas; we have a duty to God to protect our lands and wildlife.”

“Current agency managers are all former lobbyists for industry and are making every attempt to set aside roadless protections,” asserts noted, fishing/hunting author, journalist, and conservation advocate, Dale Burk of Stevensville. “The very tradition of citizen involvement in the protection of wildlands fisheries, etc. - started in Montana with citizen efforts to protect the Scapegoat and Great Bear roadless, now wilderness, areas from wholesale logging and road building earlier in the 20th century.” The removal of consistent national policies and instituting local control concerns Burk. “We now have processes where the general public can get involved in the process. This amendment robs us of that process,” he concluded.

“Roadless areas anchor the best habitat security available in our forests” said Helena wilderness hunter, 3rd generation Montanan, and Montana Wildlife Federation Treasurer, Bill Orsello. “These pockets of protection, these incubators for wildlife, are of a great value to Montanans. These are THE last best places. We need to retain that last 12%, it pays huge dividends and our Montana economy depends on it. Preserving it is in everybody’s best interest.”

Access for the disabled often emerges as the compelling argument for building roads in roadless areas. Darby resident, Jim Onderko has lost one arm but continues to hunt deer and elk with his bow. Jim counsels others who are disabled with his experiences and takes issue with the concept of piercing the roadless lands with roads to accommodate the handicapped. “We have passed the time of grieving our losses. The handicapped don’t want to
pierce roadless areas but value the healing attributes of these areas.” He continues “We have the responsibility to reach the areas of our dreams.”

The surprising conclusion came when one attendee summed up the tenor of the afternoon’s gathering by protesting, “I regard this as a sneaky, nefarious move to dismantle and destroy what so many have worked for.” The speaker was retired Forest Supervisor, Bob Ballou who punctuated the sentiment felt in the room.

Montana Wildlife Federation reminds hunters and anglers to present their comments to the Department of Agriculture before the November 15th deadline so that Montana’s remaining roadless lands do not meet the same fate as the other 88% of Montana’s wildlands heritage.

Thank you for standing up for Montana's hunting and Fishing Heritage.

Larry Copenhaver
Conservation Director
Montana Wildlife Federation
Web-site: montanawildlife.com
[406]458-0227
[800]517-7256

Contact:
Larry Copenhaver, MWF, 458-0227,
Stan Rauch, 642-6639,
Bill Orsello, 442-9825,
John Grove, 777-2423,
Dale Burk, 777-2729,
Jim Onderko, 349-2887.

This message is brought to you by the Montana Wildlife Federation ... Montana's largest, statewide wildlife conservation organization with over 7,000 members.