A Push for More Wilderness

By Kirk Siegler, 10-24-05

Wilderness advocates will gather Thursday at Missoula’s Wilma Theater for a talk by a retired Lolo National Forest supervisor, and ardent opponent of a proposed destination ski resort on Lolo Peak.

Orville Daniels, who was supervisor on the Lolo the last time the conceptual idea for a resort was proposed, will give a talk entitled “The Spirit of the Valley, Protect it or Lose it Forever.�

The forest management plan on the Lolo is up for revision, and some think more wilderness ought to be part of the discussion. Specifically, the group Friends of Lolo wants key parts of Carlton Ridge, east of Lolo Peak, added in to the Bitterroot-Selway Wilderness, or at least designated as a wilderness study area. That would all but stymie plans for a resort, though any expansion of wilderness itself takes an administrative order from higher up, or an act of Congress.

The event runs from 6 to 8:30 PM, parkside at the Wilma (formerly Marianne's). [End of article]