Montana Wilderness Association - Accomplishments

Accomplishments

1958 – Ken and Florence Baldwin found Montana Wilderness Association. The MWA was the nation’s first state organization centered around protecting wilderness and the proper management of public lands

1964 – President Lyndon Johnson signs Wilderness Act creating Montana Wilderness Areas such as the Bob Marshall, Cabinet Mountains, Gates of the Mountains, Selway-Bitterroot, and Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.

1972 – Congress designates the Lincoln-Scapegoat Wilderness proposed by MWA members. This marks the first time an area is recommended by someone other than the U.S. Forest Service. Because the MWA activists proposed the idea this wilderness is also known as the “first citizen’s wilderness.”

1976-1978 – MWA members secure designations for the Great Bear, Rattlesnake, Absaroka-Beartooth, Mission Mountains, Welcome Creek, UL Bend, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes areas.

1981 – Montana Wilderness members counter attack the “Bomb the Bob” attack along with other National conservation groups, a plan to retrieve oil and gas from the Bob Marshal Wilderness. The Bob Marshal is host to a large percentage of remaining grizzly bears in Montana and is a large elk habitat as well.

1983 – Lee Metcalf Wilderness is designated. This Wilderness protects much of the diverse Yellowstone ecosystem along with a large potion of the Madison mountain range.

1984 – A proposal called “Montana Wilderness Axe” introduced to protect only 750,000 of Montana’s six million acres (24,000 km²) of national forest is shut down with help from MWA members

1988 – The last wilderness bill passes Congress but President Reagan pocket-vetoed the bill. Reagan vetoed the bill as a favor to elect Senator Conrad Burns.

1994 – MWA members lead an attempt at another Wilderness bill. Montana representative led the way and the bill passed in the House. Conversely, neither senator supported the bill and it was not considered in the Senate. Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Conrad Burns were senators at this time.

2003 – Members again lead an act to protect Wilderness Study Areas. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court stated the U.S. Forest Service has a legal obligation to keep the wild character of seven wilderness study areas in Montana. The Lewis and Clark National Forest proposed a controversial Rocky Mountain Front Travel Plan which would allow motorized travel in the area. However, the MWA helped generate, tally, and analyze 7600 comments on the plan and it was dumped.

2007 – The MWA participated in Blackfoot Cooperative Landscape Stewardship Pilot Project, a plan that added 87,000 acres (350 km2) to the Bob Marshal/Scapegoat/Mission Mountains Wilderness complex.