To protect this truly wild area, the temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing must be extended, and the area must be permanently protected with wilderness designation, the highest form of federal protection.
Sierra Club activists in Montana and around the nation have worked hard to stave off industry efforts to drill for oil and gas in the Rocky Mountain Front. They've lobbied in Washington, D.C., and worked in coalition with other groups to educate the public and decision-makers about the value of this land. The good news is that a 20-year drilling moratorium is in place on the Lewis and Clark National Forest in the Rocky Mountain Front. But now companies have targeted adjacent Bureau of Land Management lands, and it will be difficult to stop them.
Photo: Bob Marshall Wilderness, courtesy US Forest Service. |
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The Front is home to the largest herds of big game in the lower 48 outside of Yellowstone, including bighorn sheep, elk and moose. It has the largest number of wolverines and grizzly bears south of Canada, and is the only place where grizzly bears still venture onto the prairies.
What
you can do: Send your comments to the Forest Service on the