Praise for wilderness protection act

Letter to the Editor:

As a lifetime westerner and proud citizen of this great state, I was thrilled to see our congressional delegation come together and recommend passage of the Rocky Mountain Heritage Act and the North Fork Watershed Protection Act.  The last time Montana wilderness was protected was October of 1983, so the addition of 67,000 acres of wilderness in the Bob Marshall and 208,000 acres in a conservation management area is indeed historical.  In addition, the North Fork Flathead River Watershed (408,000 acres) has been permanently protected from energy and mineral development.

We are so blessed in Montana to have these public lands protected for our children and grandchildren.  Hiking along crystal clear streams, watching a bald eagle fly overhead, seeing fields of wildflowers, catching an occasional glimpse of wildlife - these are all things that I treasure each day that I live here. My thanks go out to our congressmen, Jon Tester, Steve Daines, and John Walsh, for working together to pass this legislation.  My hope is that we can continue to protect more public lands in our state in the future.

— Julie Ellison,

Missoula