OUR Custer Gallatin Wilderness focus of evening presentation at Lindley Center
George Wuerthner, ecologist and writer, will speak at the Lindley Center on the night of Tuesday, October 29th. He will show and discuss areas in the Custer Gallatin National Forest that need to be protected with Wilderness designation.
The Gallatin Range has had decades of efforts to establish the Hyalite Porcupine Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area. Now we need to preserve the HPBH WSA and add lands that were inventoried by the Forest Service as roadless and of wilderness quality. Wilderness is the only form of protection that can hold up in the face of exploding development and potential overuse.
The valleys between the Gallatins, Bridgers, Crazies and front range of the Absarokas are caught in a crossfire of climate change and human population growth. It is not surprising that Gallatin County, for example, is now the fastest growing county in Montana, and that Bozeman is the fastest growing small city in the United States. This population increase has the potential to significantly impact the ecosystem – and its robust wildlife populations.
– The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem needs wilderness from Yellowstone National Park through the entirety of the Gallatin Range. The GYE is one of the largest, most intact ecosystems remaining in the temperate zones of the earth. The Gallatin Range connects YNP with the Bridger Range, the Little Belts and protected ecosystems to the north (Bob Marshall, Great Bear, Glacier NP). This connection is critical for wildlife connectivity.
It is essential that we save what is left. With the assault on public lands by politicians in Washington, it has become ever more vital to designate as much Wilderness as possible.
– George will speak about Wilderness and why it is critically important to both humans and wildlife. Public lands with a Wilderness designation are critical for the three Ws: watershed, wildlife and wildland.
– How Wilderness is the “gold standard” for conservation
– Even people who never step foot in a wilderness area benefit from the clean water, wildlife, and scenic values that wilderness designation protects.
Please come and learn about the areas of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that need to be protected and understand why Wilderness is crucial in this time of increasing human impacts. Join at the Lindley Center, located at 1102 E Curtiss. Event attendees will gather at 6:45pm with the program to follow at 7pm.
Visit www.gallatinyellowstonewilderness.org to learn more or read an excellent article by George at www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/27/gold-standard-for-the-gallatins. •