The Rattlesnake Wilderness

Cause for a Celebration; Wilderness turns 25

By Kirk Siegler, 10-17-05

The Rattlesnake Wilderness is turning 25 this Wednesday, and several stories over the weekend, including this one in the Missoulian and a photo spread in the Independent have showcased our little backyard gem’s history.

The Snake’s 61,000 wilderness acres and adjoining 28,000 acres of protected recreation land, is undoubtedly the closest wilderness area to a sizable urban center in America.

As the crow flies the wilderness boundary is less than ten miles from downtown Missoula, making a wilderness backpack trip in which a car never enters the equation, very much feasible.

Ironically though, the Rattlesnake Wilderness proper is one of Montana’s least visited today, despite its close proximity to town. Each year, scores of outdoor enthusiasts flock to other nearby wilderness areas like the Bob Marshall or the Anaconda-Pintler. It’s unclear exactly why, though here’s my unfounded speculation: unlike the aforementioned lands, up the Rattlesnake’s main corridor, hikers face a hefty ten mile jaunt through the Recreational Area just to access the start of the wilderness by trail; and by then, most of us weekend warriors who don’t have a bike with a bobby trailer flinch at the idea of carrying a backpack even further in.

Consequently the lower NRA, as it’s called, is today one of the city’s most popular mountain parks, especially for mountain bikers. Though long before full suspension, single track or REI were en vogue, the Snake was (and still is) a popular spot for horse and foot travel.

Many longtime Missoula conservationists were instrumental in designating the Rattlesnake a wilderness in 1980, including Cass Chinske, founder of Friends of the Rattlesnake, and Tom Roy, the former chair of UM’s Environmental Studies program.

Americans hailed the 1964 Wilderness Act’s 40 year anniversary last year, and its accompanying celebrations sparked renewed public dialogue about future wilderness designations. Here in Montana, we haven’t had a new wilderness area since 1983, when the Lee Metcalf Wilderness north of Yellowstone Park was designated. There’s long been talk that the Great Burn area west of Missoula could be next, and even though that’s been on the table since the seventies, advocates believe a move toward designation is building as the Lolo National Forest Management plan is currently up for revision.

But for now, all eyes are on the Rattlesnake’s quarter century turning. A celebration is planned for Wednesday at the Rattlesnake Gardens Coffee House on Rattlesnake Drive – the party and barbecue start at five sharp.

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