Spend a week on the Front

As many Montanans prepare to launch their multi-day outdoor adventures, we're all wondering how long these cyan-blue skies and fragrant evenings will prevail over hazy sunsets and sore throats.

After a 2007 fire season that cost approximately $40 million and required a special session of the Montana Legislature last September, a bit of cynicism among outdoorsmen and women is understandable.

As the trend toward higher temperatures and hotter fires gathers momentum, so do concerns about the future of the Treasure State's greatest wealth — our public lands. With summer just around the corner, recreationists are clamoring for answers to some difficult questions. How should communities grow to better mitigate the dangers of wildfire? Who should pay for fire management in years to come, and how?

A productive dialogue on these and other related questions depends upon the inclusion of many different perspectives and experiences within communities across Montana. For this reason, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation and the Montana Wilderness Association are teaming up to tackle one of the most difficult challenges that wildfire poses to lovers of wild country — access.

Last year, fires burned especially long in Montana's premier backcountry destination, the Bob Marshall country. Three of these fires — the Ahorn, Fool Creek and Skyland — burned more than 160,000 acres, reaching beyond the eastern boundaries of the Bob and into the incomparable Rocky Mountain Front.

A primary concern of outfitters, hikers, horsemen and sportsmen who access the Bob from trailheads along the Front is the condition of routes through areas impacted by wildfire. After a wildfire, fallen timber and erosion can cause major obstacles for backcountry travelers.

While there is not much that we can do in the near term to end years of drought and prevent record-high temperatures in July, there is something we can do right now to remove these obstacles along the beloved Rocky Mountain Front.

This summer, the Montana Wilderness Association will fund three weeklong backcountry work trips under the direction of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation to "fix up the Front." These trips will focus on erosion control to maintain healthy watersheds, as well as trail maintenance and restoration to keep trails safe for hikers and stock.

Each trip will be organized and executed by an experienced crew leader from the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation with volunteer co-leaders from the Montana Wilderness Association. Each trip will constitute more than 400 work-hours for a total of more than 1,200 total work-hours along three popular backcountry routes.

Volunteers are still needed to make these projects a success. Participating on a volunteer project will give you the chance to explore new areas and meet new people. You'll also learn the timeless skills of trail maintenance and restoration work using primitive tools.

Best of all, you'll finish the day knowing that you've helped meet the challenge of wildfire by keeping some of our last best places open and accessible. For specific dates, project descriptions and more information, visit the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation online at www.bmwf.org or call 387-3808.

One day on the Front is enough to persuade anyone that Montana's public lands are her greatest resource. This summer, we invite you to join the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation and the Montana Wilderness Association for a week in this remarkable landscape, to help restore the Rocky Mountain Front for all of us to enjoy.

Carla Belski is the executive director of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation. Gabriel Furshong is the wilderness campaign director for the Montana Wilderness Association.