Welcome to the
Gallatin Wildlife
Association
Website
Welcome - to the Gallatin Wildlife Association website.
We certainly hope you become more knowledgeable about GWA as you wander through the pages of our website. We are a small, but vocal non-profit organization located in Bozeman, Montana advocating for wildlife, their respective habitat, and migration corridors across southwestern Montana, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and the northern Rocky Mountains. We advocate for wildlife and fisheries by utilizing science and the law. GWA, founded in 1976, has long recognized the intense pressures on our wildlife from habitat loss and climate change, and we advocate for science-based management of public lands for diverse public values, including but not limited to hunting and angling.
To learn more about GWA, who we are, and what we've done: click here
Concern over South Cottonwood Canyon - Again
Concern over the future of South Cottonwood Canyon is once again on the hearts and minds of residents of Gallatin County. Many residents have been through this agony once, if not more than twice before. It seems as if the forces determined to log South Cottonwood just won't take a hint.
LEAVE SOUTH COTTONWOOD CANYON ALONE!
We at GWA highlight this issue once again because the public has to May 30 to provide public comment to the Custer Gallatin National Forest as they requested and they have been approved to receive emergency status for the slightly less than 8,000 acre logging project with logging, fire regiment, and road building. The fight to save South Cottonwood drainage from logging decades ago was a glorious victory with fond memories, it is going to take that same kind of cohesion and passion again among local residents to fight off another logging venture into South Cottonwood. The goal this time should be outright protection, by making this drainage part of the wilderness campaign. We need to do so for many reasons. The protection of the biodiversity of the GYE for one. Timber harvesting and road building will destroy what so many residents have been trying to protect for generations.
To learn more: click here
South Cottonwood and Hyalite drainages are critical for wildlife habitat and for connectivity. We urge all able bodies to get involved. Now is not the time to sit on the side lines. The deadline for comment has been extended until May 30. After that we've been told there will be no more opportunity for public comment. WE NEED TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD NOW!
Rescinding of the word "HARM" from the Endangered Species Act
I urge all who care about the sanctity of wildlife to learn about this administrations attempt to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA). They are willing to take that step by rescinding the word "harm" from the definition of "take" within the ESA. We have about 5 days yet to comment. For more information, I urge you to click here on the button below. This button also takes you to the link to reach the comment page.
To view those comments by GWA, you may enter this tracking number in the Federal Register reading room.
Tracking Number:
man-yoiw-bu07
I encourage you to send your comments in to combat this attempt to undermine language that has been very successful in protecting species that are endangered or threatened. As usual, please place your comments in your own words. The main threat here is that by the removal of the word "harm" they will remove a very successful part of the Act that is used to protect the species habitat. The Administration is trying to say that harm to the species habitat is non-specific to the welfare of the species and that it does not constitute "harm" to the individual species. This is obviously not true, not science based, for it even lacks common sense. If you remove harm from the discussion, then you are saying that a species habitat is not relatable to the survivability of the species. But if that were to happen, you are actually removing the species from the landscape which is the definition of "take", which is why it is relatable.
This is nothing more than trying to use the pure definition of a word against itself.
We cannot let this stand. Please comment today!
A New Organization to Promote the:
Hyalite Porcupine Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area (HPBH WSA)
The above picture of Grotto Falls on the Hyalite Creek Trail near the north end of the HPBH WSA boundary taken by Clint Nagel, 2011.
Montanans for Wildlife and Wilderness
(M4WW)
The Gallatin Wildlife Association is proud to join forces with several independent activists and scientists of southern Montana to promote a cohesive group of concerned citizens to fight for the protection of the HPBH WSA and all Wilderness Study Area lands across Montana. GWA has been in the fight for wilderness protection for the Gallatins as long as we have been an organization.
Needless to say, there are many reasons as to why more progress has not been made. Much of that time had to do with the broken up nature of lands due to the checkerboard nature of land ownership. Much had to do with politics and sadly to say it still does. And now it is because of politics and the falling away of other eco-friendly non-governmental organizations (NGO)s.
This issue is larger than just one NGO or entity can promote. Those who are in opposition to the full protection of the HPBH WSA have joined forces with other interest and user groups to promote an alternative approach. Even the US Forest Service has turned away from full protection of the HPBH WSA. GWA needed help, sad to say, but we are not ashamed to say the problem is much larger than any one group can handle on their own.
We will be announcing our new organization (M4WW) soon in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, but stay tuned for more progress and news to come. Our job has it has always been is to prepare an alternative to the Gallatin Forest Partnership and to influence and inform the public about the importance and need of preserving biological and forest integrity of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Help Us, won't you?
In Memorium:
Dr. David Mattson
It is a hard thing to begin a website such as ours with this sad news. Dr. David Mattson was an inspiration to me personally, even though I had not known him long. I admired his knowledge, his passion, and his zeal to do the right thing on behalf of our environment, especially in his fight to understand and advocate for grizzly bears. GWA relied on his science concerning many issues involving grizzly bears. His passing on Feb. 2, 2025 came as a shock, even though we knew he was in a fight for his life. It is hard to write words about this without becoming to emotional, but I always thought I had common ground with him, perhaps it was because we both had careers with the U.S. Geological Survey, but he was in a class of his own. He was way out of my league, but that left me thinking, I wish I had known him longer - who knows how my life would have changed even more for the better. That was the kind of person David was - he made us all better in what we do.
Please read the article and newsletter version of the Grizzly Times with the link above. Learn more and do more with this wonderful opportunity that Dr. David Mattson and his beloved wife, Louisa Willcox have provided our community. He will be missed.
Our National Forests
are under attack by
our own Government.
We have been fighting land-use issues at nauseum, or so it seems. If it isn't the state, it's the Federal Government and that is where we find ourselves at this time. This time our National Forests are under attack by two federal sources, our own U.S. Congress and President Trump's Executive Branch. The following is a letter sent to U.S. Senators.
=====================================================
Dear Senator:
Our Nation’s Forests are facing threats from two fronts within our federal government: one Congressional and the other Administrative, straight from President Trump’s desk. The U.S. Congress passed a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives called “Fix Our Forest Act”, HR 471. In the U.S. Senate, this bill had recently been negotiated by Senator Hickenlooper, Padilla, Curtis, and Sheehy to become S. 1462, introduced in the Senate on April 10, 2025.
This bill, even with modifications, follows the concurrent intent and purpose of HR 471, and obviously the misnomer name associated with HR 471 shows the arrogance of our society in a couple of ways. One is that is assumes our forests need fixing and two, it assumes that we can fix it. Both are false assumptions which in and of itself highlight the fact that this bill should be defeated.
On the other front, President Trump has signed into effect on March 1, 2025, Executive Order (EO) 14225, “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production”. In response to that EO, the United States Department of Agriculture has issued a Secretary’s Memorandum 1078-006 on April 3, 2025, entitled “Increasing Timber Production and Designating an Emergency Situation on National Forest System Lands”.
Both documents declare there is an emergency within our Nation’s Forest, but we declare that too is a lie. Our Nation’s Forest policy on federal land should not be mischaracterized for ideological purposes. Both attempts would have long-term disastrous effects on the ecological integrity of our forests, the biodiversity of our land, while at the same time, minimizing and manipulating our democratic process.
In addressing the Congressional legislation, there are many faults with this bill even after compromising efforts were made. This legislation does little to address issues such as defensible space, emergency planning, and an all-important facet of home hardening. Instead, this bill focuses on partisan issues such as bypassing bedrock fundamental laws that protect our lands and wildlife. The public is tired of legislation that skirts solutions and focuses on partisan ideology in the name of solutions.
Why do solutions to a problem always have to incorporate the most divisive and partisan viewpoints? Why not choose solutions that actually address a problem without creating new ones? Even after Senators Hickenlooper, Sheehy, Curtis, and Padilla have tried to negotiate a more bipartisan approach, this bill still falls short of what is truly needed to make this legislation meaningful and effective to its goal. In addition, it undermines sound bedrock principles such as NEPA, ESA, and NHPA/tribal consultation.
This bill, HR 471 in the Senate needs to remove sections 106,121, and 122. This bill as written will destroy valuable habitat, biodiversity, increase noxious weeds, increase road density, fragment already fragmented wildlife habitat and exacerbate wildfires by drying out the forests with more wind, more sun, less canopy cover, and more runoff, etc., etc. This legislation would still open millions of acres of federal land to logging without scientific or public review. This bill simply pushes the American citizen out in the cold as far as having a say in their government and how our forests are being managed.
The President’s EO is equally devastating to our forests. President Trump’s agenda is trying to open more than 112 million acres of federal forests to logging. If successful, this once again would devastate wildlife habitat, biodiversity, watershed protection, and much more including the mitigating potential of fighting climate change through carbon sequestration. The costs of losing our forests would be an enormous loss to society and the intrinsic value of life as we know it upon our landscape.
Another aspect of the President’s EO would be the loss, the scientific loss of mature and old growth forests. The same climatic changes described above under Fix Our Forests Act would also occur here under the President’s EO. The forests would have an increased fire risk for generations to come if these acts were to be followed. Trees could be felled that potentially possess a genetic resistance to many diseases and drought. The lack of science oversight would be removed leaving our forests tattered and vulnerable, most likely never having the potential to return to their native state because of climate change.
This EO and the Secretary’s memo does not even mention climate change, but states that our forests are in an emergency crisis. They do not provide evidence for that emergency. These unwarranted acts overlook the benefits that forests provide such as clean water, clean air, habitat protection and the ability of a forest to sequester carbon. These desires by the administration are solely for the purpose of increasing and speeding up the process of removing large amounts of timber without public notice or objection. In doing so, they at least violate the intent of NEPA and other federal regulations. It is an undemocratic process in what they are proposing. It is undemocratic in their intent and unscientific in their management.
We urge all Senators to vote against S.1462 and we urge the Senate to do their oversight duty and challenge the President’s actions under the Executive Order. There is no emergency in our forest to justify such acts. It is once again, a knee-jerk reaction to a condition where wiser heads should and could prevail.
Sincerely,
Clinton Nagel, President
Gallatin Wildlife Association
Call and/or write your U.S. Senator to vote against S. 1462. Tell our Senators to not support this radical forest agenda as stated by President Trump's Executive Order 14225.
Montanans for Safe
Wildlife Protection: MSWP
Most of you should know, GWA has been involved with and are supporters of MSWP for several years now. Being as one representative on the MSWP Steering Committee, we try to propagate the energy and resources for wildlife infrastructure across the state of Montana.
Below is their most recent website:
Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage
There is much to do in this realm of establishing wildlife connectivity across highways and railways, etc. Please help out in any way you are able.
Climate Forest Coalition:
Another alliance that GWA is participating in is that of the Climate Forest Coalition, an organization of likeminded NGOs across the country that are trying to change forest policy. We're trying to promote policies of protecting mature and old-growth forests in order to preserve biodiversity, ecological integrity and to use our forests as a mitigative approach fighting climate change by carbon sequestration. Here is their link:
https://www.climate-forests.org/
There is much material here for references and they have already testified before Congress.
We urge all members to follow this group and follow us as we try to incorporate their strategy into ours as appropriate.
GWA's Facebook page is Going Strong!
Check us out -
Thanks to Angelo Roman for managing our Facebook page.
GWA's Podcast on KGVM -
Wildlife and Wilderness -
take a listen!
After Christmas of last year (Dec. 30, 2020) Clint Nagel of GWA was fortunate enough to be interviewed by J. Shell, host of the program Wilderness and Wildlife on KGVM, 95.9 on the radio dial.
Wilderness and Wildlife, presented by the Gallatin Wildlife Association, features discussions of issues involving the wildlife of southwestern Montana, and the wilderness habitat that makes this area appealing to adventurous people from around the country. You'll hear interviews with wildlife experts and naturalists reporting on species they have studied, which are threatened by the pressures of a rapidly growing populace in the Greater Yellowstone Region.
For other shows presented, simply click the following.
The Gallatin Wildlife Association also produces the short Wildlife Capsules.
Thanks to John Shellenberger for taking the initiative to establish this mechanism of outreach for GWA.
