25 years in the making, shaped by those who know it best.
In Montana, our public lands are where we hunt, fish, hike, bike, ride, and explore. They're places where families gather, traditions are passed down, and people find freedom and adventure in the outdoors. That's why places like the Blackfoot River Valley matter to so many Montanans.
The Blackfoot supports local jobs. Hunting, fishing, horse packing, and guiding support small businesses and bring visitors who spend money in our towns. When folks come here, they stay in local lodging, eat at local restaurants, and support outfitters, gas stations, and main street businesses. That kind of visitation helps keep our communities going.
This proposal takes a practical approach to reducing wildfire risk while supporting the jobs and industries that keep Montana strong. Active forest management and restoration projects will improve forest health, reduce hazardous fuels, restore streams, and help protect communities, businesses, and watersheds from catastrophic wildfire.
Monture Creek and the Upper Blackfoot are gateways to the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Areas and among the most iconic places in the Blackfoot Valley. Protecting these landscapes helps preserve hunting, fishing, horse packing, and backcountry traditions while ensuring future generations can enjoy the same experiences that make this place special.
The Blackfoot River Valley is part of who we are. It is where we work, play, and raise our families.
This landscape supports wildlife, keeps our communities healthy, and gives us access and recreation that enriches us. Generations of locals have taken care of this country, and we plan to keep it that way for the next generation. This effort was built from the ground up. Local folks have been working on this for decades, starting with the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Proposal.
Over that time, we heard loud and clear that people want multiple use front and center, including recreation, forest restoration, access, conservation, and working lands. So we went back to the plan and made it better. We expanded recreation and built the A River Runs Through It Act as a stronger, more balanced approach to serving the Blackfoot community.
Since the early 2000s, Montanans have worked together on a long-term solution for the public lands in the Blackfoot River watershed. We are business owners, loggers, conservationists, hunters, anglers, riders, and hikers.
Montanans from all over come to Lincoln and the Blackfoot Valley to camp, to go fishing, to go 4 wheeling, to ride their motorcycles or to hike. So, what happens on the national forest impacts us a lot. That's really what drives our economy. These proposals were built so that no one group loses anything. We all got something out of this project.
We're all drawn to the backcountry for the same reasons: to enjoy Montana's wild places, to connect with the natural world, and to restore our spiritual health. And we all value the Blackfoot landscape and deserve a place on it. It's that understanding that has allowed us to come together in support of these community proposals.
Showing supporter 1 of 2: Bill Cyr
We are seeing more frequent and intense wildfires, especially as more homes are built near forested areas. That is why multiple use includes active forest management. Putting people to work in the woods around the Blackfoot helps reduce risk and protects nearby communities.
Montana may be growing, but it’s not making more public lands. Every year we encounter more people in the places we have brought our families to hunt, fish, and explore for years. Folks are seeing more pressure in places explored for years. If we don’t take care of what we have now, those opportunities start to slip away.
Water quality in the Blackfoot River is already imperiled by historic mine pollution, and every year we seem to get less snow and rain. This makes it even more important that we protect and manage the areas around this river, so they are more resilient.
A River Runs Through It --- A Big Blackfoot proposal. It brings people together around multiple use and keeps the Blackfoot working the way it should, now and for the next generations.
Our solution brings together 20+ years of work, unifying the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Proposal and the Lincoln Prosperity Proposal with one common goal.
