85%

of Montanans support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act.*

*According to the University of Montana’s 2024 Voter Survey on Public Lands.

The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act will permanently protect the Blackfoot River’s most important tributaries. It will secure and expand outdoor recreation opportunities in the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys and enhance timber production and forest restoration in and around Seeley Lake.

Who We Are

Since the early 2000s, Montanans have worked together on a long-term solution for the public lands in the Blackfoot River watershed. We are business owners, loggers, conservationists, hunters, anglers, riders, and hikers.

View Full List of Supporters
  • "The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project is something we all agree on. It’s time to get it done."

    - Loren Rose, Pyramid Mountain Lumber, retired

There are three components to the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project: timber, recreation and conservation.

The forest restoration section is already underway, through the good work the Southwest Crown Collaborative has initiated and continues in the Seeley and Ovando areas. The recreation and conservation portions are yet to be realized; now is the time to finish what we started a decade ago.

Timber & Restoration

A sustainable timber economy goes hand-in-hand with healthy fish and wildlife habitat. Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act partners have helped create and maintain 153 jobs and secure $35 million in federal investments around Seeley Lake. These investments have helped treat 57,040 acres for noxious weeds, restore 204 miles of stream, and maintain 3,431 miles of multiple-use trails.

Recreation

The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act will ensure this corner of Montana remains a world-class place to live, visit, hunt, fish, and ride. The proposed Otatsy Recreation Management Area will open 2,000 acres to high-quality snowmobiling near Ovando. The Spread Mountain Recreation Management Area will preserve prized mountain bike access to Spread Mountain, Center Ridge, and Camp Pass. It also asks the Forest Service to study new recreation opportunities.

Conservation

The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act will permanently protect some of Montana’s most iconic lands and waters, like the North Fork of the Blackfoot, Monture Creek, the Swan Front, and the West Fork of the Clearwater. It will add 80,000 acres to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Mission Mountains Wilderness areas to ensure high-quality wildlife habitat, clean water, and recreational opportunities for the future.

Don’t just take our word for it.

Don’t just take our word for it.

Here’s what others have to say about our Montana backyard.

Nov 2024

It is time to pass the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

"We rolled up our sleeves and worked together to balance forest restoration, recreation, and conservation. No group got everything they were after, but by working together, we created something that we believe benefits Montana and our nation as a whole."

– Zach Angstead, Wild Montana Federal Legislative Director

Sep 2024

Let’s keep Montana ‘The Last Best Place’

Helena Independent Record

"Once considered a barrier to economic development, now outdoor recreation is a key driver of our economy. The the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act, Lincoln Prosperity Proposal, and Greater Yellowstone Recreation & Conservation Act would add 282,000 acres of prime outdoor recreation and ensure additional Wilderness."

– Wild Montana members Daphne Herring, Dough Ferrell, Addrien Marx, and Lee Boman

Aug 2024

Passing the BCSA would fortify the Blackfoot River

The Montana Standard

"We owe the conservation of our wild places and spaces to the future generations of Montana. As a mother and educator, I want to make sure they have everything we do and more. "

– Anne Jolliff, Clancy

Jul 2024

The BCSA will ensure habitat connectivity for some of Montana’s most iconic wildlife species

Flathead Beacon

"The Act would open new areas to snowmobiling and cycling, facilitates timber management, and adds roughly 80,000 acres of wilderness to the southern and western edges of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex (plus the West Fork Clearwater addition to the Mission Mountains Wilderness) – helping to ensure habitat connectivity for some of Montana’s most iconic wildlife species."

– Mike Young, Missoula

Jun 2024

Rep. Zinke: Support the BCSA

Flathead Beacon

"The passage of BCSA would be streamlined if Representative Ryan Zinke introduced the BCSA in the House as well. Montanans have been fighting for close to two decades to get BCSA passed and are so close to seeing it happen. "

– Don Stolte, Whitefish

May 2024

The BCSA will safeguard this landscape for present and future Montanans

Flathead Beacon

"The act has been years in the making and combines conservation and community needs. It ensures that future development will benefit local communities, steward the land, and allow for expanded recreational opportunities."

– Jeanette Hall, Flathead Valley

May 2024

Creating two new recreation areas is now more important than ever

Flathead Beacon

"The lands of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act connect with the Mission Mountain Wilderness which connects with the Tribal Wilderness to the west. The lands of the BCSA connect with The Bob which connects to Glacier National Park to the east and north. Those connections become wildlife corridors. "

– Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project Steering Committee

May 2022

A clear mandate to protect public lands

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

"These results have real implications for our elections. 85% of voters surveyed – 79% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 96% of Democrats – say conservation factors into their decision about who to vote for."

– Ben Gabriel, Helena

May 2022

Poll: Strong support for Blackfoot Clearwater protections from Congress

Public News Service

"It’s really a collaborative effort. We’ve included timber mill workers. We got ranchers, outfitters, conservationists, mountain bike riders, business owners. The list kind of goes on."

– Kristin Cordingley, program director, Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund

May 2022

A local’s perspective

Billings Gazette

"I support this act as an avid user of our public lands who utilizes them to enjoy a diverse range of activities including hunting, hiking, 4-wheeling, climbing, and skiing."

– Mike Mershon, Billings

Mar 2022

Pass the BCSA

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

"How many ways and times do we need data to come back showing that there is widespread, bipartisan support for passage of this bill? I’d say we have all the data we need. Let’s get this bill passed."

– Jon Haufler, Seeley Lake

Mar 2022

Blackfoot Clearwater bill needs Daines’ support

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

"We have seen Sen. Jon Tester listen to Montanans throughout the inception and development of this bill and carry it on our behalf. It’s truly an example of how ground-up, Montana-based legislation should work."

– Amy Coseo, Mountain Mamas & Todd Frank, owner of The Trail Head

Endorse the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act

Sign on to show your support for the BCSA by completing this form. You’ll be urging the entire Montana delegation to put differences aside and work together — as the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project has done — to support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act and pass the bill as soon as possible.

Want to do more?

Thanks, we do too. Here’s what you can do to make certain our Montana delegation hear our voices.

Write A Letter To The Editor

Write to your local paper to express your support for the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act.

Contact Montana’s Congressional Delegation

Sen. Steve Daines
(202) 224-2651

Sen. Jon Tester
(202) 224-2644

Rep. Matt Rosendale
(202) 225-3211

Rep. Ryan Zinke
(202) 225-5628

BCSA Endorsements

Want to do more?

Thanks, we do too. Here’s what you can do to make certain our Montana delegation hear our voices.

Write A Letter To The Editor

Write to your local paper to express your support for the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act.

Contact Montana’s Congressional Delegation

Sen. Steve Daines
(202) 224-2651

Sen. Jon Tester
(202) 224-2644

Rep. Matt Rosendale
(202) 225-3211

Rep. Ryan Zinke
(202) 225-5628