In Response to MAC's Op-ed on Blackfoot Clearwater Project

To the Leadership of MAC

I just wanted to take a moment today to thank you for such a beautiful, thoughtful op-ed in last week’s paper, which my colleague, Jordan Reeves, shared with me.
 
The values that you spoke of so eloquently in the op-ed were ones that we had all discussed during the Traditions and Spirituality in a Changing Landscape retreat on Flathead Lake in April, and really resonated with me throughout the op-ed.
 
My sincere thanks again for making such powerful connections here between faith and stewardship, and I am already looking forward to the next time that our paths cross so that I can learn more about MAC’s priorities and ongoing work.

Anne Carlson, Ph.D.
Climate Adaptation Specialist
The Wilderness Society
(mobile phone) 406.548.7964
www.wilderness.org
 
We protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places


To read the opinion letter from the Montana Association, continue reading below or click here Christian Group Supports Blackfoot Stewardship Project

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Christian Group Supports Blackfoot Stewardship Project
June 8, 2016

From 'A River Runs Through It'
“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a flyfisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”
― Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

Rivers running clear and deep can help us find mental clarity and spiritual depth when we need it most. That was certainly the case for Norman Maclean, who found in the Blackfoot River a powerful metaphor for grace and transience. The beautiful Blackfoot helped Maclean write about the death of his younger brother. Over the years that story of land, water, and family has become part of the fabric of our culture and helped define who we are as Montanans.

On the 40th anniversary of the publication of Maclean’s “A River Runs Through It,” the Montana Association of Christians (MAC) is pleased to announce our support for the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project, a legislative proposal to protect the headwaters of the Blackfoot and Clearwater Rivers.
MAC represents eight denominations, several hundred churches, and more than 130,000 parishioners across the state of Montana. Together, we seek to bring the voice of the Gospel to bear upon those places where peace and justice are absent, speaking up for those who are denied a voice and working for the dignity of all people and the care of all creation. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project because we believe it is a balanced, thoughtful, and inclusive approach to future management of American public lands and waters in a beloved corner of Montana.

Montana’s wildlands and wildlife have their origins in the works of the Creator, but we all have the responsibility to steward them for future generations. This stewardship is especially important for landscapes with a particular spiritual resonance for Montanans, and Maclean’s Blackfoot is just such a place.

The landscape-wide proposal offered by the BCSP is the result of more than a decade of collaboration among Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the Seeley Lake Driftriders Snowmobile Club, commercial outfitters, hunters and anglers, and conservation groups, including the Montana Wilderness Association and The Wilderness Society. Their proposal combines forest restoration, recreation and conservation. It has already resulted in 138 forest jobs and $19 million in federal investment for forest restoration around Seeley Lake and Ovando.

The conservation and recreation facets of its proposal would include 83,000 acres in the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountain Wilderness Areas and creating new opportunities for snowmobiling and other recreation between Seeley Lake and Ovando.
These aspects require legislative action. MAC urges Montana’s congressional delegation to act on these parts of the BCSP proposal and carry them through Congress to the president’s desk.

MAC has long affirmed that the scripture calls on all of us to care for Creation – and we embrace this calling as one of the key values of our organization. MAC believes that thriving public lands are essential for our spiritual health and the well being of our economy. We further believe that all people can contribute to the protection and restoration of Montana’s environment as caretakers of God’s earth through initiatives such as the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project.

-- This opinion is signed by MAC President, Rev. Valerie Webster of All Saints Episcopal Church in Big Sky; President Elect (2017), Rev. Dave Andersen of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Butte; MAC Past President (2015), Rev. Peter Erickson of Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Columbia Falls.