Scapegoat Wilderness 50th Anniversary Event Highlights New Land Management Proposal

The Scapegoat Wilderness, celebrating its half-century anniversary this year, was the first community-led wilderness initiative in the country. Today, 50 years later, the residents of Lincoln, Mont., are once again advocating to conserve its nearby public lands, including an expansion of the Scapegoat's southern boundary. 

Lincoln is as reliant on its public lands now as it was five decades ago, which is why the community is hosting an event September 16 & 17 to commemorate the Scapegoat Wilderness 50th anniversary and to help spread the word about a grassroots, public lands-management proposal called the Lincoln Prosperity Proposal. 

"The Lincoln Prosperity Proposal would expand the Scapegoat Wilderness, but it also provides greater public land access, improves forest health, and brings greater economic stability to Lincoln through improved outdoor recreation," said Karyn Good, a member of the Lincoln Prosperity Group and a community council member. 

Today, the Scapegoat Wilderness comprises 240,000 acres at the southern end of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. It's a beloved asset to the community and the whole state. The Continental Divide Trail, which spans from Canada to Mexico, crosses through the wilderness area. Long-distance hikers, anglers, hunters and outfitters all benefit from the vast landscape and robust fish and wildlife populations. 

However, adoption of the Scapegoat Wilderness five decades ago was not without conflict. 

Becky Garland, a lifelong Lincoln resident, recalls the local logging community boycotting their family's general store, which was located right off Highway 200 in the center of town. Her dad, Cecil Garland, was a member of the Lincoln Backcountry Protective Association, the group pushing for Congress to adopt the Lincoln Backcountry (as it was called back then) as the Scapegoat Wilderness. Senators Mike Mansfield and Lee Metcalf and Congressman Jim Battin championed the group's efforts. 

"My folks were targeted because they were easy targets," said Becky Garland in the film 'Scapegoat,' which is set to premiere at the 50th anniversary celebration event in September. "The general store was right on main street... and the locals felt threatened." 

Hearing murmurs of a boycott, wilderness advocates from across the state rallied together, showing up in Lincoln in droves to patronize the Garland store in an effort to keep the family financially afloat. Looking back, Garland is empathetic to the local logging community. 

"As I look back, I get it," Garland said. "It's hard to think about the stress that those families were going through. But I think we made it through, and I hope we are a better community for it."

Now, Lincoln residents are once again pushing for a Congressional public lands proposal, but this time the community has taken a more holistic approach to management. The Lincoln Prosperity Proposal provides permanent access to the Copper Bowls snowmobile area; completes a new trail loop for motorized recreation and mountain biking; designates Nevada Mountain as wilderness, as well as expanding the Scapegoat; and provides the U.S. Forest Service with tools to help protect Lincoln from severe wildfire.

"We rely big time on these public lands for our tourism and recreation. If we don't have it, this is going to be a ghost town," said Zach Muse, Lincoln Fire Chief and Postmaster. 

The Lincoln Prosperity Proposal requires introduction as legislation and passage by Congress. The Lincoln steering committee continues to keep the U.S. Forest Service and the members of Montana's delegation abreast of the proposal and are optimistic that the delegation will push the proposal forward and champion it in Congress. The Lincoln Prosperity Group encourages the public to show their support for the proposal by endorsing it online at lincolnprosperity.com/take-action

"I think we'd be remiss if we didn't work together as a whole, as a community, and as Montana to use our public lands thoughtfully," Garland said. 

The Scapegoat Wilderness 50th Anniversary Celebration starts Friday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m., with a storytelling event featuring Jack Gladstone, Montana's Troubadour. Events continue all-day Saturday at Hooper Park in Lincoln and include exhibits, science talks, live music by the Copper Queen and Hillfork Noir, a film premiere, food, beer garden and more, as well as organized group hikes in and around the area. The event is sponsored by the Lincoln Prosperity Group, K Lazy 3 Outfitters, Citizens Alliance Bank, Action Realty, The Wilderness Society and Wild Montana.

For more information please visit: scapegoat50.org.