Louise Johns
Protecting the heart of the Gallatin and Madison ranges
Communities in the Greater Yellowstone region are booming, and with that growth recreation pressures are increasing on the Gallatin and Madison ranges. In order to preserve these wildlands, we need a sound management plan for the Custer Gallatin National Forest that balances conservation with a growing population.
The area of the Custer Gallatin that encompasses the heart of the Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges contains some of the last places on earth to experience a wild, relatively intact landscape. We must preserve those values while helping people enjoy them in a sustainable way. We’re advocating for a collaborative agreement that ensures healthy wildlife habitat, clean water, undeveloped lands and access to a range of recreation activities.
An important part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the stretch of the Custer Gallatin National Forest found on the Madison and Gallatin mountain ranges boasts important habitat for grizzly, elk and trout as well as diverse landscapes for communities to enjoy.
The threat
The Custer Gallatin National Forest’s undeveloped wildlands on the Madison and Gallatin mountain ranges deserve to be cared for in a way that strikes a balance between protecting the remote backcountry that defines the region and accommodating the recreation passions of growing communities nearby. Now is the time to craft a plan that protects this wild backyard for future generations.
We are working to influence the development of plans that will guide how the Custer Gallatin is managed for decades, and are collaborating with a wide variety of people who have a stake in the region, from small businesses to mountain bikers to hunters.
What we're doing
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Building agreement among partners
As part of the Gallatin Forest Partnership, we work with businesses, landowners, mountain bikers and others to build agreement around protecting wildlands and maintaining existing recreational uses in the Gallatin and Madison ranges. We aim to conserve wildlife habitat, undeveloped land and clean water.
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Balancing conservation with community needs
We’re working with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure their plans for management of the Custer Gallatin National Forest balance wilderness conservation with the interests of a growing population.
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Protecting potential wilderness
We work to ensure that recommended wilderness areas in the Custer Gallatin are managed in a way that by prohibits destructive uses that are not consistent with the Wilderness Act.
