Logs, Roads and Wilderness 



Today, the state Board of Natural Resources 

 and Conservation administers the Rock Creek trust 

 fund through the Rock Creek Advisory Council, 

 which includes two representatives from the West 

 Slope Chapter of Trout Unlimited as well as one 

 each from the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Na- 

 tional Wildlife Federation, the Montana Department 

 of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the state Natural 

 Resources and Conservation Department and area 

 property owners.*^ The Council is dedicated to 

 preserving a pristine habitat in the Rock Creek 

 drainage for fish, wildlife — and people. Specifical- 

 ly, it monitors compliance with previous plans and 

 agreements, encourages recreation consistent with 

 traditional uses, tracks land use, ownership and 

 stream access, secures conservation easements and 

 buys key blocks of land to maintain open space and 



access to the creek. It funds conservation and 

 education projects, maintains an archive and en- 

 courages cooperation among public and private 

 agencies active in the drainage.^^ 



The council works closely with rangers from 

 both forests. When Missoula District Ranger Dave 

 Stack talks about the Rock Creek drainage these 

 days, he uses phrases like "national treasure," "new 

 perspectives in forestry" and "trying to be more 

 ecosystem based."^' His language is a measure of 

 how far the Forest Service has come along the 

 banks of Rock Creek. 



'It was perplexing to me when I first came 

 what all this public participation meant," says Stack. 

 "There are only a few things written as agreements. 

 But what really developed is a vision of Rock Creek 

 and how it was to be managed." 



Slide Rock. Fisherman's Cabin. Circa 1920. 



