Working and Playing the Land 



allowed to the introduction of non-native species 

 and the use of pesticides. Unlike a covenant, which 

 is a contract between buyer and seller," easements, 

 enforced by a third party, become a deed restric- 

 tion and, unless otherwise specified, remain with 

 the land in perpetuity. The Nature Conservancy 

 already holds an easement in the Rock Creek 

 drainage on an 80-acre parcel just below the bridge 

 from Philipsburg. The Forest Service holds another 

 on an 84-acre parcel on Ranch Creek. And the Mon- 

 tana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks holds 

 a third on the 130-acre Spring Creek Woods pro- 

 perty. The Montana Land Reliance is helping addi- 

 tional landowners convey conservation easements 

 to the Rock Creek Advisory Council. '^ 



The Rock Creek Advisory Council also owns 

 outright the 240- acre Handley Ranch, purchased 

 in June, 1990, for $385,000. And the Council join- 

 ed with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife 

 and Parks in November, 1986, to purchase the 

 130-acre Spring Creek Woods property for 

 5210,000.55 In 1990, the Council began developing 

 longterm management plans for the conservation 

 of both parcels. 



Other factors have helped limit subdivision 

 on the private lands of the canyon. Residential 

 development largely ends at the confluence of 

 Ranch Creek, where electric service ends. And Rock 

 Creek is too far to be a bedroom community for 

 a city the size of Missoula; the unpaved road is often 

 impassable during winter storms. Building in the 

 Rock Creek canyon continues at the rate of about 

 three homes a year, residents say. About a tenth of 

 the homes are only inhabited seasonally, and many 

 of the rest are occupied by retirees. 



"We Are Going to Have to Restrain Ourselves'— 

 Wild and Scenic Rivers 



Rock Creek is also being considered for pro- 

 tection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. 

 The law provides for the "protection and enhance- 

 ment" of three classifications of river'* A "wild" 

 river is undeveloped and generally accessible only 

 by trail through a roadless area. A "scenic" river is 

 largely undeveloped but accessible by road in some 

 places. A "recreation" river "could be through 

 downtown Chicago," as one advocate explained: it 

 is readily accessible by road, has some developed 

 shoreline and may have been dammed or diverted. 

 Rock Creek is being considered for designation 

 under the "scenic" and "recreational" categories. 



Rock Creek was first considered for such 

 designation in 1972 by both the U.S. Congress and 

 the state legislature. Although both bills died, it is 

 worth quoting from the eloquent testimony given 

 at a Congressional hearing called by Senators Lee 

 Metcalf of Montana and Frank Moss of Utah. In his 

 introduction to the August, 1972 hearing in Missoula, 

 Senator Metcalf called Rock Creek a "storied" stream, 

 "one of Montana's most familiar, most important, 

 most significant resources."*' 



Dr. Gary Eudaily described playing on Rock 

 Creek's banks at age five, tied to a huge cottonwood 

 tree in front of the family cabin. He spoke of salmon 

 fly hatches and "royal bull elk." Then he gave a 

 litany of Rock Creek's degradation, from the loss 

 of the bighorns to mechanized logging, overfishing 

 and uncontrolled subdivision. Other sportsmen, 

 such as Donald Aldrich of the Montana Wildlife 

 Federation, were equally passionate. "We have in 

 our society people who would log the Garden of 

 Eden and release their waste in the very source of 

 our waters. In the past a small but vociferous ele- 

 ment of our society and a segment of the leader- 

 ship in our agencies have influenced management 

 decisions in favor of commodity productions and 

 a life style our resources cannot support." Cecil 

 Garden, president of the Montana Wilderness 

 Association, said driving up Rock Creek "is almost 

 like (attending) a wake, because in my mind's eye 

 I can see how obviously it at one time was, and I 

 can see what is happening . . . somehow or another, 

 unless we are going to lose these treasures, these 

 tremendous places, we are going to have to restrain 

 ourselves." 



Opponents were just as outspoken. "We 

 have tried to read the bill and undersund its mean- 

 ing," said George Mungas, of Philipsburg. "Many of 

 us fear and distrust some of the implications we 

 receive from the text. We fear the word condem- 

 nation." Ed Lord, representing Granite County 

 KEEP (the Committee for Environmental and 

 Economic Protection), argued Rock Creek would 

 be better protected through local laws. And he join- 

 ed John Stevenson, president of the Missoula 

 Chamber of Commerce, in calling for further Forest 

 Service studies before proceeding with legislation. 



Those studies were underway in 1991. In the 

 mid-1980s, a little-known provision of the Wild and 

 Scenic Rivers Act came to light; Section 5-D requires 

 all federal land-holding agencies, such as the Forest 

 Service and the Bureau of Land Management, to 

 identify rivers that should be protected under the 



