Winter Wildlands Alliance and our local partners are one step closer to achieving permanent protection for Mount Jefferson, a pristine backcountry area located in the Centennial Mountains
along the Idaho/Montana border. The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act introduced by Montana Senator Jon Tester and recently co-sponsored by Montana Senator Max Baucus includes Wilderness designation for the Montana portion of Mount Jefferson. Backcountry skiers from around the region know this small but significant 4,500-acre area as a backcountry ski paradise. Many have stayed at the Hellroaring Hut -- one of only two successfully operated private backcountry hut businesses in Southwestern Montana. The area also provides important habitat for rare carnivores, including wolverines and lynx that stay active all winter and may be harmed by snowmobile use.
Not surprisingly, protection for Mount Jefferson is meeting stiff opposition from the snowmobile lobby, particularly in Idaho, where snowmobile interests are putting heavy pressure on Idaho’s Congressional delegation to oppose the inclusion of Mount Jefferson in the bill. WWA is working directly with Senators Tester and Baucus as well as Idaho Senators Crapo and Risch to educate them about the importance of Mount Jefferson to the human-powered recreation community and as a critical wildlife corridor. Forty-four small business partners and grassroots groups from Idaho and Montana recently joined WWA in a sign-on letter to the above-named Senators expressing our support for Wilderness designation for Mount Jefferson. Hundreds of WWA individual members have commented in favor of protecting the area. “Since WWA first formed a decade ago we’ve been working to protect Mount Jefferson,” says WWA Executive Director Mark Menlove. “It’s encouraging to be so close to achieving our goal and rewarding to see the support for this effort coming from our Backcountry Partners, grassroots groups and individual members. It’s truly a collaborative effort.”
