Here’s the Missoulian’s take on yesterday’s Senate hearing on the Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill . . .

Supporters of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act had their day in Congress on Thursday when U.S. Sen. Max Baucus led off testimony on the bill.

“I think this is a no-brainer,” Baucus told Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden. “There’s no conflict. People worked very hard to make this happen. I hope we can get this passed this year.”

Choteau rancher Dusty Crary called the bill “our homeland security bill.” The act would add 67,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and designate another 208,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land as conservation management areas . . .

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Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill got a formal Senate hearing today . . .

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus on Thursday presented to a Senate panel his plan for new wilderness and conservation area along the Rocky Mountain Front, with high hopes and the backing of the Obama administration.

Baucus told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests that the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act comes from residents who spent years working on it. The bill aims to keep development and road access at current levels.

Baucus predicted it will succeed where other wilderness efforts have failed because it is a homegrown effort.

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