Super stumps for wilderness

Slowly, but surely, Chas Cartwright has been spreading the word, talking to community groups, chambers of commerce and the like. The superintendent of Glacier National Park says now is the time to permanently designate about 975,000 acres of Glacier as wilderness.

Cartwright claims that now is an opportune time to add a wilderness designation to the Park as Glacier nears its 100th birthday in 2010.

"It's a nice birthday gift," Cartwright noted.

Glacier is already protected largely by the enabling legislation that created the Park, as well as subsequent federal legislation. But even then, superintendents have a large degree of autonomy, Cartwright noted.

"There's a value is setting strict sideboards for managers," he said.

What wilderness wouldn't do is change the management direction of the Park, he said. It wouldn't stop the use of chainsaws to clear trails. It wouldn't stop hiking, or trail creation, or shut down the chalets, scenic overflights or horse rides.

It wouldn't stop any of those things, Cartwright said. He said when legislation is written — and it hasn't yet — uses would be codified. In other words, they'd be written into the law that creates the wilderness.

"Glacier is known for its wilderness values," Cartwright said. "It's the right thing to do."

As he's spoken to groups, Cartwright said about one third support it wholly, and another third, when they realize it has no impact on current Park management also endorse it, or at least are neutral on the issue. There are those that simply oppose wilderness designation, he admits.

The wilderness designation would also send a message to Glacier's Canadian neighbors that we care about the Park in a time when mining is proposed on several fronts north of the border.

"It shows that we care about long-term preservation," Cartwright said.

Wilderness designation for much of Glacier has been on the radar since the Nixon administration.

The legislation at the time didn't pass. It's also written into the Park's general management plan, which was completed in the late 1990s.

This time the legislation may have some legs and a Montana sponsor. Aides to Sen. Max Baucus say the senator is considering legislation.