Guest Profile

A proposal for a land trade on the east side of the Crazy Mountains in the Custer Gallatin National Forest has the potential to block up public lands and improve public access to them. But there’s a lot of hard work and important safeguards that need to be in place to make this trade a net benefit for the public.

The proposal would trade 3,614 acres of National Forest land on the east side of the Crazies for 5,205 acres of private land that is owned by several different people. It would consolidate a large block of land into public ownership between Sweetgrass Creek and Big Timber Canyon while adding a new 21-mile loop trail for hiking, horseback riding and hunting and fishing throughout the Range.

MWF’s interest in the proposal has several aims. They include to protect the important wildlife habitat in the Crazies, improve public access in the area, and to ensure that there is a robust public process to gauge support for the project. And MWF doesn’t see this as the end of working to improve wildlife habitat, access, and recreational opportunity there, but rather the beginning.

To those ends, MWF’s support for the project is contingent on multiple conditions. They include putting conservation easements on all public lands that are exchanged; giving the public or a land trust a first right of refusal should any of those lands come up for sale, and ensuring that the boundary of the National Forest does not shrink.

We also will not support anything that affects the ongoing lawsuit over access on the road and trail from Sweetgrass Creek. And finally, we requested that the trade be conducted through the administrative process, rather than legislation through Congress. That’s to ensure the trade gets a healthy public debate.

MWF encourages all who are interested in the future of wildlife and access in the Crazies to attend upcoming town hall meetings: Thursday, July 23^rd in Big Timber at the American Legion; Thursday, July 30^th in Bozeman at the Masonic Lodge; and Thursday, August 6^th in Big Sky at Wilson Hotel.  All meetings run from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and will follow strict Covid-19 public health guidelines.  We also encourage you to submit comments here before August 7^th: https://www.crazymountainproject.com/public-feedback

See our letter on the proposed East Side Proposal here.

By MWF Conservation Director Nick Gevock.

We all knew him as “Poz,” and for more than six decades he was a leading voice for wildlife conservation, ethical hunting, and the protection of Montana’s rivers. Today we can look at the undammed Yellowstone River, the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, and the abundance of wild lands and wildlife we all love and thank Jim Posewitz as one of the key leaders for his tireless conservation efforts.

He committed his life to protect what he called “the democracy of the wild” so that everyone – regardless of social status or income – could enjoy public wildlife.

Posewitz, 85, moved on in July to be with the son he lost years ago for “one final hunt through the stellar chaos of the cosmos,” as he wrote. His loss was crushing to his hundreds of friends who for decades saw Poz as among the grandfathers of conservation, and who kept working toward those efforts until his final days.
Those who knew him well also recount that he was committed to passing this conservation legacy on to future generations, and inspiring others to take up the fight. He was a passionate hunter who was deeply rooted in the tradition of the hunter/conservationist, said Chris Marchion, MWF board member, and past president.

“Jim was the guy who described this notion that hunters were the greatest conservationists,” he said.
Poz lived a remarkable life, one that is known for his immense contributions to wildlife conservation but also full of other interests and pursuits. But his passion, more than anything, was wildlife conservation and ensuring that future generations had an abundance of wildlife to enjoy.

His book “Beyond Fair Chase” has more than 1 million copies in print, and is a staple in youth hunter education programs around the country. And he wrote numerous other books as well, detailing the decades of conservation work that began with a court case laying out that wildlife was a public resource, to be managed for the public.

His accomplishments were so numerous, and among them was encouraging the next generation to take up the fight and work to protect wild lands, waters and wildlife.

“Poz always told me, ‘I’m glad to see you’re still raising hell,’” said J.W. Westman, MWF board member. “He was just one of those people if you cared about things, you knew enough to listen to.”

Nick Gevock serves as conservation director for MWF.

The current pandemic continues to impact all of us. During these unprecedented times protecting Montana’s fish, wildlife and outdoor heritage is more difficult than ever. That’s why MWF is one of the only sporting organizations in Montana to consistently act on climate change. It’s clear that climate change will continue to have major impacts on fish and wildlife habitat. Last year, MWF developed a short film, The Last Cast, about the growing impacts of climate change on Montana’s rivers and fisheries, highlighting some of the everyday people that depend on having healthy rivers for their livelihood and quality of life. Coming soon in May, MWF will be releasing the film, asking anglers from across the country to TAKE ACTION on climate change.