CONTENTS 



Page 



Fcircwi)rd 'i 



Map of Rock Creek Basin v 



Time Line vi 



Introduction 



Conservation and Diplomacy: Saving a Montana Treasure 1 



[I. Chapter One 



"To Protect and Improve:" Logs, Roads, and Wilderness 5 



• Clearcuts and Conservationists 



The Debate Begins 5 



• "Do It Right" 



The Public Strikes a Deal 8 



• "Wilderness Reclaimed 



The Welcome Creek Story 10 



• "Intent and Spirit" 



Monitoring the Monitors 11 



• A HighTension Trade-off 13 



III. Chapter Two 



"It Gets in Your Blood:" Placer and Lode 23 



• Frontier Democracy 



The Mining Law of 1872 23 



• They Fought It When It Came" 



New Rules and Exemptions 24 



• "A Gentleman So Prominent" 



Babcock, Quigley and the Early Prospectors 24 



• "Legal Action Will Be Taken" 



Modern Mines and Environmental Standards 25 



