Guest Opinion: Keep the land for others to see, enjoy

As an avid outdoorsman, I have a great

appreciation for the many opportunities in our area to hike, camp,

fish, hunt and enjoy the magnificent countryside.

I grew up in South Dakota on a farm

with zero acres of wilderness nearby and only a small amount of

public land. I came to Montana in 1963. Soon I was hunting elk,

mountain sheep, mountain goats and bear in the wilderness and

exploring remote areas.

My appreciation for wilderness grew

when I realized that many of these animals wouldn’t be here without

the habitat that someone had the wisdom to protect from being

roaded and commercialized.

I wonder if individuals who are opposed

to adding even one more acre of wilderness have ever hiked in the

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness or the proposed Scotchman Peaks

Wilderness? Have they walked beyond traffic and roads and listened

only to the sounds of running water, breezes rustling through the

trees, birds or the occasional rocks tumbling down a ravine?

Much of our Cabinet Mountains

Wilderness, as well as the Scotchman Peaks, juts out into rocky

hillsides and cliffs, forming majestic mountainsides where moose,

elk, bear, sheep and goats can be observed by hikers and

photographers, and by hunters in the fall. One might also see a

pika, wolverine, bobcat, lynx or mountain lion.

We are fortunate to still have most of

our native wildlife species present in our area. Many of these

species have disappeared from other parts of the nation, along with

the wild country they need to survive and flourish.

The panoramas at the heads of our

mountain basins are vast. It gives me great aesthetic pleasure to

sit for hours listening to quietness as I search the mountainside

with binoculars.

Camping in a glacial cirque gives me a

perspective that I do not get in the hustle of everyday life. What

would be so bad about protecting some more of our wild, roadless

country just the way it is for future generations to enjoy?

I attended a one-room country grade

school and looked forward to the day when the United States of

America would reach a population of 150 million people. Our

population has more than doubled since. What will our population be

in another 60 years? What will this pressure do to our few

remaining roadless areas?

I am not suggesting wilderness is the

only place that I enjoy. I love roads and rigs as much as the next

person. As a houndsman of 40 years, I spend four months each winter

hunting bobcats and mountain lions, primarily outside of this

wilderness. I utilize a four-wheel drive pickup and snowmobiles to

run roads looking for tracks.

Some claim wilderness locks people out.

I worked on a forest service trail crew for 14 years and met people

young and old, resident and non-resident on those trails. Some had

horses, llamas, and even goats, but most were on foot.

I do not believe the claim that

wilderness presents a threat to the timber industry. The problems

of our timber industry will not be repaired by building expensive

roads into steep, rocky land that doesn’t have enough merchantable

timber to pay to build the road, much less, pay the logger.

National polls consistently show nearly

80 percent of Americans support protecting wild lands as wilderness

– men and women, urban and rural, Republicans and Democrats. Today

only about 2 percent of Lincoln County is protected as wilderness.

This is a lower percentage than the nation as a whole.

Multiple use means more than an

opportunity to burn gasoline; wilderness and wild country are

important elements of true multiple use. Lincoln County is made

richer and stronger by providing diverse opportunities for wildlife

and recreation.

In our area, we have a generous amount

of wonderful public lands to use and enjoy – enough for a wide

variety of uses. We are making a big mistake if we fail to protect

the chance for future generations to use and enjoy the wild country

that makes our area so appealing and special.

At age 65, I realize that eventually, I

will not be climbing the peaks of the Cabinets and Scotchmans, but

that is OK, because I also realize that wilderness designation will

keep the land as it is for others to see and enjoy.

— — —

(Don Clark of Libby is a retired

teacher who is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association

and North American Hunting Club. He is a member of Safari Club

International, Back Country Hunters & Anglers, and the Friends

of Scotchman Peaks for Wilderness.)