Some of the finest wildlife habitat on the Front can be found on parcels of lands owned by the state of Montana where state land is intermingled with private and federal lands within the oil and gas lease withdrawal boundary. Members of the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front believe that the state of Montana needs to take a hard look at these holdings which includes such prized lands as the Sun River, Ear Mountain, and Blackleaf Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and make every effort possible to protect Montana’s hunting and fishing heritage.
It makes good economic sense to do so, especially in light of a recent report releases by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks that found that the Rocky Mountain Front economy gets an almost 10 million dollar boost each year during hunting season. John Borgreen, Russell Country Sportsmen President hit the nail on the head when he said, "The economic benefits to local Front communities stems largely from maintaining current working landscapes and abundant wildlife resources."