By Rich Fitzpatrick

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It doesn't matter whether you're a relative newcomer to Montana or fifth-generation like myself - when you see that Rocky Mountain Front rising up from the plains to touch the big sky, you can't help but feel moved.

I felt that way about those mountains most of my life. I started hunting and packing horses back there when I was in high school. Nowadays, I'm kept busy repairing cars, trucks and farm equipment, but I still get back there as often as I can. Mostly it's to help maintain trails and build bridges with the Backcountry Horsemen. It's my little way of giving back to a place that has meant so much to me.

This August, I had another opportunity to give back to the Front by going to several public meetings attended by Montana's senior U.S. Senator, Max Baucus. Baucus came to these meetings wanting to know more about a local proposal called the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act.

On a recent Friday morning in Choteau I took the podium and, on behalf of the East Slope Back Country Horsemen, told Baucus that I supported the Heritage Act because it's a home-grown, made-in-Montana plan whose time has come.

Our chapter of Backcountry Horsemen is comprised of members who call the Rocky Mountain Front home. We chose the name East Slope because that is where we recreate; that is where we have spent the majority of our existence helping to maintain the special places that make up Montana's beloved Rocky Mountain Front. And that is the area that we have grown to love. We have realized, for a long time, without some kind of protection, the Front as we know it may forever change.

I think Baucus heard a lot of things at these meetings. Most of it was positive and a good reminder that Montanans value common sense and civility. Some of it was critical and good points were made that need to be followed up on. But the most common thing folks in Choteau spoke about was compromise. I heard over and over that folks didn't get everything they wanted in the Heritage Act but that the process of reaching middle ground was even more important in the end.

I agree that not everyone got everything they wanted. For instance, as a member of the Backcountry Horsemen I personally would like to see even more wilderness area in this proposal. Backcountry Horsemen has always been a firm supporter of wilderness. In addition to helping our land managers, the stewardship and promotion of wilderness was the reason we were founded in the first place.

Several years ago, in its formative stages, the Heritage Act had proposed over 130,000 acres of wilderness. But through some rather hard decisions and tough compromises, that number has been gradually reduced over the years to less than 70,000 acres now.

As a supporter of wilderness it was tough to let some of those areas go, but I am still satisfied with the product today and think the Conservation Management Area can be just as good in some places. What's still currently proposed as wilderness though represents some of the best country on the Front and will definitely enhance the existing Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex for future generations.

This year there is great expectation that some parts of Montana's treasured Rocky Mountain Front may take the next big step toward permanent protection. I would hope that Baucus can reward all the hard work and compromise that's gone into this process and take the Heritage Act to Washington.

Rich (Fred) Fitzpatrick runs a repair and machine shop in Valier and is a member of the East Slope Back Country Horsemen, which is one of 18 chapters of the Back Country Horsemen of Montana.