msd 





By 

 Robert 

 Werson 



Never /></:> l/m /let-ii lur tummuniLdlion 

 been made more evident than m the past 

 two months — as all of us literally held our 

 breath while hoping for word from Washing- 

 ton, DC on the fate of MACDs "Seek 

 Project " 



With some word on the proposal expected 

 almost daily, we have purposely held publica- 

 tion of this issue of TREASURE ACRES to 

 include announcement of the decision 

 We're still holding our breath but the 



affairs and activities of MACD continue to 

 progress to the pomt that I must confess to 

 complete bewilderment as to where to start 

 on my "Report to the f^embers of MACD " 



Realistically, much of what has been 

 accomplished — and remains to be accom- 

 plished—must await reporting and discussion 

 at our annual meeting m A/liles City. Nov 

 12-14 At this point m time there is really 

 no place to start and. as I mentioned at the 

 start of this column, never have I been so 

 aware of the need for more regular and 

 more detailed communication —not only 

 with our membership but with the general 

 citizenry of Montana 



But. above all. one thing needs interim 

 comment — a point that is re-emphasized par- 

 ticularly in discussions elsewhere in this 

 TREASURE ACRES on MACDs SEEK 

 Project" 



The political clout of Montana's conserva- 

 tion districts has arrived at a "moment of 

 truth " We either assume the leadership in 

 conservation /environmental/ecological issues 

 TODAY, or we may relinquish our oppor- 

 tunity for all time The key to our meaning- 

 ful future may well rest with the outcome 

 of our efforts to work with our educators 

 in the SEEK program. 



In short, do we as pioneers in conserva- 

 tion practice and education still have the 

 necessary political clout to get SEEK 

 approved and get on with the job of 

 helping train our youth in sound conserva- 

 tion — environmental— practices? The answer 

 may well come m the action on SEEK. 



Much has been said (and written) on the 

 diminishing influence of the nation 's rural 

 areas on the decisions of Congress Hope- 

 fully, our particular case m point will prove 

 that we do indeed still have an ear at the 

 federal level . I 



NOT ONLY must man learn to 

 live in compatability with na- 

 ture (see Big Sky feature on 

 facing page), he must learn to 

 set aside areas for the study of 

 nature— so that he may better 

 know how to conserve and pro- 

 tect the environment. This, in 

 essence, is the guiding phil- 

 osophy of the 1 00-acre "out- 

 door classroom" recently leased 

 to the Cascade County Conser- 

 vation District where nature is to 

 be left undisturbed (note pic- 

 tures, right, and article below.) 



Future generations of 

 school children from 

 northcentral Montana will 

 be able to view an area 

 bordering the Missouri 

 River— almost as it was when 

 Lewis and Clark traveled the 

 river a century ago. 



Thanks to the foresight of the 

 Montana Power Company, a 

 1 00-acre "outdoor classroom" 

 has been made available as a 

 Managed Natural Area for na- 

 ture students of all ages— super- 

 vised by the Cascade County 

 Conservation District and as- 

 sisted by the Soil Conservation 

 Society of America, the Nature 

 and Wildlife Society and the 

 Society for Range Manage- 

 ment. 



In contrast to the Big 

 Sky of Montana project — 

 but not in conflict — 

 CCCD's unique study area 

 will be preserved in its 

 natural state. 



Thus land utilization planners 

 of tomorrow will be better able 

 to design projects such as Big 

 Sky ... or recommend that 

 man not upset delicate ecologi- 

 cal balances when such pro- 

 posed projects obviously will 

 cause irreparable damage. 



nstispe 



r^ 



of the Valley County Conservation Dis- 

 trict. 



Ray Garberg and Boyd Tymofichuck 

 have been re-elected to the board of 

 supervisors of the Daniels County Con- 

 servation District 



Alex Barclay has been named Out- 

 standing Conservation Farmer award 

 winner by the Garfield County Con- 

 servation District. Kenneth Coulter, 

 John W. (Bill) Billing and Cecil Weed 

 ing were re-elected to the board of 

 supervisors. 



Henry VanHoorn has been elected to 

 the board of supervisors of the Gallatin 

 Valley Conservation District Also elected 

 was John Buttelman, John Schutter. Nor- 

 man Torgerson. Mervy Long and Law- 

 rence Laird Chan Cooper was named 

 Outstanding Conservation Farmer for 

 1971. 



Reorganization of the Fergus County 

 Conservation District has been complet- 

 ed with Bradley Parrish, chairman; Larry 

 Barber, vice chairman; Gene Bricker, 

 treasurer and Mrs Betty Haight. sec- 

 retary Other supervisors include Garde 

 Peterson Jr , Richard Delaney, Otto Jen- 

 sen and newly elected William J Snapp Jr 



Kenneth Schurch and Cliff Benson 

 have been elected to the board of 

 supervisors of the Deer Lodge Valley 

 Conservation District, New officers 

 include John Vanisko, chairman: John 

 Hellenback. vice chairman, and 

 Schurch, treasurer. 



L T Robbms and James Hanson have 

 been reelected to the board of super- 

 visors of the Jefferson Valley Conserva- 

 tion District Also elected was Walter 

 Steingruber Other board members are 

 Harry Dawson. John Heide Jr . and Fred 

 L Bell 



NATURE STUDY AREA 



G/ft or 



The /Montana Power Co 





BLACK EAGLE DAM 



CITY OF 

 (^REAT F-ALUS 



