News and Views

November 18, 2005

Editor
Great Falls Tribune

Re: Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument

Dear Editor:

A recent writer supported 6 recreational airstrips in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. He challenged conservationists, who he called "antagonists," to hike the rugged terrain from one proposed strip to another.

I have hiked to most of the proposed airstrip locations including the three remote airstrips in the Bullwhacker area. I have led hikes in the area through the Montana Wilderness Association wilderness walks program. I have camped winter and summer in the area. Yes, this scenic landscape is rugged and hiking can be difficult, but this is exactly why this area deserved Monument status because it contains some of the wildest country in the Great Plains.

The Monument Proclamation directs the BLM to protect the remote character of this landscape. The BLM will not accomplish this purpose by authorizing airstrips in the back country, establishing a road density where 90% of the Monument is within a mile of a road and proposing 34 new gas wells. Just these combined uses alone plant a big footprint that treads all over the vision of a backcountry that protects wildlife habitat and offers the experience of wild country.

The BLM has no preexisting authority for the proposed airstrips. It makes sense that living up to the high standards of the Monument Proclamation means locating airstrips outside the Monument, not in it.

Sincerely,
Dennis Tighe

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