Help keep the Front the way it is now! Increasingly, important habitat along the Rocky Mountain Front is under pressure from the subdivision of private land for residential development. Conservation easements have proven to be a valuable tool for protecting wildlife and a traditional way of life by leaving land in private ownership. However, in order to capitalize on the gains already made, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in need of renewed funding to purchase additional conservation easements in the coming years. Learn how you can help this important program>>
Travel Plan for the Rocky Mountain Front Released!
The Coalition applauded the Forest Service for its plan that protects wildlife while emphasizing traditional uses on the Front. On October 1st, the Lewis and Clark released a final Travel Plan for the lower two-thirds of the Rocky Mountain Front covering roughly 390,000 acres, excluding the Badger-Two Medicine area. The Plan will guide all travel, recreation, and other uses on the Front for the next two decades, specifying routes for hikers and horseback riders, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles (ORVs) ...more>

About Us

The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front includes Montanans of varying points of view. The Coalitions outfitters, anglers, hunters, ranchers, business people, conservationists and wilderness advocates are united in their belief that it is in Montana's best interests to keep the Front wild. The Coalition is also lobbying to keep the roadless parts of the Fronts public lands free of motorized use. This Web site is sponsored by four member groups of the Coalition: Friends of the Rocky Mountain Front, Montana Wilderness Association; Montana Wildlife Federation; and The Wilderness Society. For more information, contact us.

For more information about the coalition, contact Gabe Furshong, the Montana Wilderness Association's Choteau organizer, at 406-466-2600 or by cell: 406-461-6897.

Names and contact information of others who care about the Front can be found at helpful contacts.

A Reason to Celebrate!
Montanans from all walks of life—ranchers, Blackfeet tribal leaders, county commissioners, hunters/anglers, farmers and conservationists—gathered in Great Falls Jan. 13, 2007 to celebrate a major conservation victory for the Rocky Mountain Front. In the waning hours of the 109th Congress, lawmakers passed legislation sponsored by Montana's Sen. Max Baucus to halt future oil and gas leasing on the Front's federal lands, thus clearing the way to retire existing leases.

Senator Max Baucus and Bill Cunningham

More than 200 folks showed up for the celebratory event. Sen. Baucus received special recognition for championing the legislation. He spoke of his strong personal connection to the Front and his commitment to work for its protection. Freshman Sen. Jon Tester could not attend but sent a rousing statement of support. Also in attendance were: State Auditor and Land Board member John Morrison; Mary Sexton, Director of the Department of Natural Resources; county commissioners from three of the four affected counties, along with former mayors of Great Falls and Choteau; and many active and retired state and federal agency employees.

Stoney Burk

Speakers included The Wilderness Society's Peter Aengst, who served as Master of Ceremonies; Stoney Burk, a Choteau businessman who is active in the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front; Chris Marchion, president of the Montana Wildlife Federation; Keith Tatsey, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe; and Gerry Jennings, past president of Montana Wilderness Association. Two local TV stations covered the event.

Gene Sentz and Nora Gray

The event was a huge success complete with a Front decorated cake and a champagne toast offered by long-time Front resident Gene Sentz celebrating the Front's 100-year conservation history and the efforts of a diverse coalition that included Sen. Baucus, whose leadership made the victory possible.