Projects and Issues

On the Front

The Rocky Mountain Front is an integral part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness/Glacier National Park “Crown of the Continent” Ecosystem, which is the largest, most intact wild country in the 48 contiguous states. While hunters and anglers have led Front conservation endeavors’ for nearly 100 years, aggressive efforts to protect the Front by MWF since 2003 working in collaboration with hunters, anglers, ranchers, hikers, business owners, decision makers and conservation organizations has resulted in substantial gains.

Part of these efforts culminated in the successful passage of a Congressional Tax Relief and Health bill introduced by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) that withdrew future oil and gas leasing on 400,000 acres of BLM and National Forest lands along the Front. The measure was signed by President Bush, December 20, 2006.

While the successful Congressional legislation prohibiting new federal leasing and the sale and retirement of all leases from three leaseholders are huge successes, the natural diversity and ecological integrity of the invaluable transition zone between prairie grasslands and sub-alpine forests along the Front remains largely unprotected.

The region is home to elk, mule and white-tailed deer, eagles, owls, falcons, big horn sheep, mountain goat, fisher, grizzly and black bear, moose, upland game birds, native bull trout and Westslope cutthroat trout, wolverines, mountain lions, bobcats, lynx and wolves. It has been said that except for bison, sturgeon and paddlefish, every major species of plant, animal and fish native to Montana prior to Lewis and Clark still exists in this region.

More grizzly bears thrive in this world-renown wildlife paradise than any of the lower 48 states. On May 24, state FWP wildlife biologist, Mike Madel, captured the second-largest male grizzly ever recorded in the Northern Rockies Region. Unintentionally captured as part of a female grizzly population count and radio collar project, the bruin was captured in the Teton River drainage not far from Choteau along the Front. The 7 foot, 6 inch male with a neck circumference of 4-feet, weighed 750 pounds after a winter of hibernation. Madel estimated that the bear could weigh as much as 900 pounds by fall.

The fact that the bear has thrived for 8-years along the Front without FWP knowing he existed is a powerful testimonial that further substantiates the incredible wildlife value of the Front. It reflects on the valuable work by hunters and anglers to protect the more than 500,000 acres of state and federal lands. Biologists rank “the Front” and the interconnected forests in the top 1% of wildlife habitat in North America.