Wilderness Commentary

On the PBS series, "Antique Roadshow" we've all chortled with glee when someone brings in a painting they discovered at a neighborhood garage sale for $5 and are told by the expert that it is a rare piece of art worth $500,000. "Those people didn't know what they had," we chuckle, eyeing the gaudy vase passed through our own family tree.

In recent months there has been a healthy discussioninvolving many parties as to what, if any, portions of the White River National Forest not already designated as wilderness should be considered for addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Determining the status of public land has arguably been Montana's most intractable political problem over the last half century. Most of the turmoil has centered on wilderness designation in National Forests.

Federal lands are owned by all Americans and managed by federal agencies to, ideally, maximize most of the land's use for a variety of purposes. Some federal land is so valuable for its scenery, archaeological treasures, wildlife habitat and watershed that it should be protected by designation as wilderness.

Elected officials in counties where there is a lot of federal land have legitimate concerns about the public land use limitations that have an impact on the local economy.

Ask many Central Coast residents about Pinnacles and they would probably answer, "Is that a new restaurant?"

That's because the unique sights, sounds and geologic formations at Pinnacles are not as easily accessible, or as readily recognized, as, say, Yosemite's.

Which might explain why Pinnacles National Monument isn't a huge draw for visitors, who might not realize it's home to the endangered California condor, the largest soaring bird in North America.

During a recent six-hour run traversing the Gallatin Crest, I reflected on the resurgent debate about how this pristine high-alpine environment should be managed. The Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area (WSA), commonly referred to as the Gallatin Crest, is a unique wilderness corridor extending north of Yellowstone Park. Bordered to the east and west by Paradise Valley and Gallatin Canyon, the Crest provides vital habitat and passage to grizzly and black bears, wolves, lynx, elk, deer and moose.

To the Editor:

I have been interested in reading your articles and letters regarding the possibility of the Gold Butte area becoming an NCA.

It seems the bone of contention between the side favoring this action and the side disputing it is access. And not just access but motorized access.

Dear Editor:

Avid hikers are invited to test their mettle by joining the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign on Sunday, Aug. 15, as they ascend the 13,500-foot Treasure Mountain above Marble.

The Treasure Mountain massif, near the headwaters of the Crystal River, is one of the lushest areas in the state. The rock spires of The Chimneys hide basins containing head-high fields of flowers and numerous waterfalls and waterslides.

When I was a stu­dent at Van­der­bilt Uni­ver­sity in the '60s, I used to visit Rad­nor Lake - a lake cre­ated by the Louisville and Nashville Rail­road to sup­ply water for their steam loco­mo­tives. After it had out­lived that pur­pose, it had grown quite wild. L&N sold an option to build town­houses around the lake in 1971.

Hikers are invited to come with the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign to ascend Mt. Thomas, south of Eagle, on Sunday, Aug. 8.

Mt. Thomas is over 12,000 feet in elevation and is one of the high points on Red Table Mountain above Sylvan Lake. The hike is moderate, nine miles in length, and includes 2,000 feet of elevation gain.