Tag Archives: Scapegoat Wilderness

Brian Sybert: Lessons from the Scapegoat Wilderness

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , , ,

Brian Sybert, executive director of the Montana Wilderness Association, has a pretty good op-ed in Hungry Horse News supporting the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act . . .

In 1972, nearly 240,000 acres of federal public land lying between Montana’s iconic Rocky Mountain Front and storied Blackfoot River Valley became the first acres in the nation to enter the wilderness system at the behest of ordinary citizens.

The story of the Scapegoat Wilderness has influenced every effort to protect wild country during the past 40-plus years in Montana and throughout the nation.

And it’s a great story, full of colorful characters and bugling elk. On some levels it is also a heartbreaking tale of sacrifice and the heavy emotional burden that comes with standing up for what you believe is right.

Read more . . .

New species of Indian paintbrush found in Scapegoat Wilderness

Environmental Issues, News,

A couple of guys found a new species of Indian paintbrush a few years ago while hiking in the Scapegoat Wilderness . . .

When Pete Lesica and Dave Hanna get their boots on the ground, they like to keep their eyes there, too.

“I do botany as a hobby and as a living. I’m kind of a nerd and am a little obsessive,” Lesica said with a laugh. “I look at the ground all of the time.”

Continue reading . . .

Family recounts struggle to establish Scapegoat Wilderness

Environmental Issues, News, ,

This is the second of the Missoulian’s two-part series on the establishment of the Scapegoat Wilderness . . .

A quote on the wall of the Montanan Steakhouse may be familiar to literature fans: John Steinbeck expressing his affinity for Montana during his travels with a French poodle named Charley. “I’m in love with Montana,” Steinbeck quipped in “Travels with Charley: In Search of America.” “For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.”

The quote is a fitting one for a Lincoln restaurant owned by Barbara Solvie, who as Barbara Garland founded the Garlands Town and County store in the 1950s with her husband, Cecil.

Continue reading . . .

(Additional reading: The first part of this series.)

Scapegoat, first citizen-designated wilderness, created 40 years ago

Environmental Issues, History, ,

The Missoulian starts an excellent two-part series on the Scapegoat Wilderness today . . .

While camped above Ringeye Falls in the 1950s, Cecil Garland pulled an elk reed bugle from his duffel bag and released a call into the crisp September air.

Within minutes, the calls rang back – big bulls hidden deep in the Lincoln backcountry. Sleep wouldn’t come easy for Garland that night, his heart pounding and his senses alive.

“All through the frosty fall air the calls echoed back and forth and I knew I’d found wilderness,” Garland testified before the U.S. Senate on Sept. 23, 1968. “But all was not at peace in my heart; for I knew that someday, for some unknown reason, man would try to destroy this country as man had altered and destroyed before.”

Continue reading . . .

(See also this related article: Support waning for future Montana wilderness designations.)