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Wild Divide
Geographic Area: The geographic area for the Wild Divide Chapter of the Montana Wilderness 
Association includes the west central Montana area incorporated primarily by the following counties: all of Lewis and Clark, plus those portions of the Helena National Forest in Jefferson, Meagher, Broadwater, and Powell counties (essentially the entire Helena National Forest).
(right) Top of the Sleeping Giant with the Missouri River in the background. Photo by Mike Brown.
Wild Divide Chapter member and MWA GIS expert Cedron Jones has written The Helena Area Hiking Guide as a fundraiser for the Helena Outdoor Club and the Wild Divide Chapter of the Montana Wilderness Association. A great website has been built to highlight this informative guide.
Jones notes that the book isn’t a trail guide. There are only a few built and/or maintained trails in the guide. The routes sometimes start on old roads. They sometimes cover old trails that aren’t well maintained. Sometimes, out-and-out bushwacking is necessary. The books are available at a variety of book and outdoors stores: Montana Book Co., Aunt Bonnie’s Books, The Base Camp, Outdoor Kidfitter, Montana Outdoor Sports, Capital Sports and Birds & Beasley’s. It is also available at the Montana Historical Society museum store, the Real Food Market and Deli and the Made in Montana store.Grassy Mountain Roadless Area Under Attack - Forest Service plans to convert Trail #124 into road open to ATVs, trucks, and SUVs; MWA and Wild Divide Chapter Appeal
The Helena National Forest, after years of delay, has signed a record of decision for the South Belts Travel Plan, selecting a modified version of Alternative 2. The final decision does include some MWA recommendations, especially for Boulder-Baldy and Mount Baldy.
However, the decision also takes aim at the special character of the Grassy Mountain Roadless Area, named for its expansive grassy crest. Specifically, the final decision establishes a linked network of full size vehicle roads and ATV-ways covering the entire 5.5 mile crest of Grassy Mountain, from Skidway Campground to Klondike Pass. Under the plan, Trail #124 would be converted into a forest road open to ATVs, trucks, and SUVs, linking new loop roads and ATV tracks through the roadless area to roads in a neighboring 5,000 acre rural subdivision owned by Florida developers.
MWA and the Wild Divde Chapter have appealed the decision, siting the USFS failure to properly manage and protect the Grassy Mountain Roadless Area, claiming the the Roadless Area should be non-motorized, and a failure to conduct site-specific analysis as to the impacts of converting Trail #124 into a Forest Road.
Click here to read the appeal. Stay tuned as there will surely be more to come.....
The Montana High Divide Trail System incorporates areas along the Continental Divide from the Anaconda-Pintler to the Scapegoat Wilderness Areas, and includes 232,675 acres of proposed Wilderness.
UPDATE: The Helena National Forest helped direct the MHDT partnership to reroute the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST) by constructing a new segment of trail between Josephine and Bison Mountain. This falls in line with the High Divide agreement (see the chapter letter of support).
Volunteer Opportunities
Chapter Newsletters: Fall 2007 Spring 2008
Wild Divide Chapter Board
F. Diego Rivas, President
Kim Dale, Chapter Representative
Mary Caparelli, Treasurer
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Chapter Board meetings are set for the second Tuesday of every month from 6:00-8:00 pm. They are open to the public and we encourage you to attend. Meetings are normally held at the MWA offices (30 S. Ewing, Helena) in the downstairs meeting room. Updates will provided here should there be any changes.