Sleeping Giant and Gates of the Mountain Wilderness Campaign

When Lewis and Clark began planning their expedition to the Pacific, one of the few landmarks they knew about was the “Bear’s Tooth”—a prominent chuck of rock located just north of Helena. Today, this landmark is called the Sleeping Giant and represents efforts by local citizens to protect this historic area as Wilderness.

The two Wilderness Study Areas comprising this campaign were instituted in 1991 with tremendous public support and total 6900 acres outside of Helena. It is now time for them to have the WSA designation removed and become full-fledged Wilderness.

The Sleeping Giant is clearly noticeable from Helena and can be recognized by the 600 foot chunk of rock called Beartooth Mountain which makes up the Giant’s nose. It can be seen for miles around. Lewis and Clark stayed at the base of Sleeping Giant in 1805 during their journey to the Northwest.

The Sleeping Giant WSA has an abundance of wildlife including: black bear, deer, elk, mountain lion, antelope and even an occasional grizzly and wolverine.

As the Helena area continues to grow and evolve, we want to make sure there are some quiet places for families to hike, fish, camp and hunt. Working to ensure that the Sleeping Giant and Gates of the Mountains WSAs become full Wilderness areas will do that. Two Historic Treasures in Helena’s Backyard provides more detail about the area and the strong local efforts to move the area towards Wilderness protection.

Two Historic Treasures in Helena’s Backyard
More and more people are beginning to notice what Helenans have known for a long time—that the city of Helena and surrounding valley are a fine place to live, raise a family, work and play. Why? In large part it’s the quality of life we all enjoy. Helenans are grateful for their good fortune—a community filled with friendly people, economic stability, the state capital providing opportunities for business, tourism and the arts—and our closeness to magnificent wildlands that offer endless invitations to experience nature.

Two fine examples of these wildlands are located just north of Helena. The Sleeping Giant and Gates of the Mountains Wilderness are familiar, easily recognizable symbols of the pristine landscapes that surround Helena and the valley below. They’re a part of our way of life.

From just about any vantage point in Helena, you can quickly pick out the unmistakable profile of a “Sleeping Giant” to the north. Beartooth Mountain is the official name of the pinnacle that defines the “nose” of the Giant’s face. This 600-foot high chunk of rock can also be seen for miles to the northeast along the Missouri River and may have been a familiar sight to early fur trappers as they journeyed along the river in the late 1700s. Before Lewis and Clark arrived on their expedition to the Pacific, one of the few landmarks they knew about along the river above the Great Falls of the Missouri was the “Bear’s Tooth.” The Corps of Discovery explored the Missouri and camped below the Sleeping Giant when they traveled through Montana in 1805, and a portion of this area is now part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

WILDLIFE AND WILD LANDS
Today, the Giant’s nose and chest anchor the eastern unit of two adjacent Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) that are separated by a power line corridor. The eastern unit, known as the Sleeping Giant WSA, encompasses approximately 6,500 acres and the Giant’s knees dominate the western unit, which includes the approximately 3,900 acre Sheep Creek WSA plus 3,000 acres of adjoining roadless lands. Both WSAs were recommended for Wilderness by the agency in 1991 after receiving considerable public support.

Wildlife abounds in this unique ecosystem that ranges from prairie foothills to craggy peaks. Elk, mule deer, antelope, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, grouse and migrating raptors are just a sampling of the diversity found in this area. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP) occasional appearances of grizzly bear, as well as wolverine, have been noted in the area.

Just across the Missouri River to the east are the rugged cliffs that Lewis and Clark aptly named the “Gates of the Mountains.” Recognizing the scenic, historical, recreational and wildlife values of this area, the Forest Service created the Gates of the Mountains Wild Area on March 25, 1948, and reclassified it as Wilderness upon the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. Bordering the western and southern boundary of the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness is an established “set back” of approximately one mile of roadless landscape. These proposed “additions” to the Gates encompass approximately 11,000 acres. They were recommended for Wilderness by the Helena National Forest in the 1986 Forest Plan and have been included in eight Wilderness bills introduced or passed by Congress from 1984 to 1992.

OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
The Gates of the Mountains area offers outstanding opportunities for hiking, hunting, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, and exploring a great selection of peaks and rugged canyons. The entire area is a critical link in the wildlife corridor that extends from the Continental Divide to the Big Belt Mountains. According to MTFWP, species of wildlife that cross the Missouri River from the Gates of the Mountains to the Sheep Creek and Sleeping Giant WSAs include black bear, moose, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mountain lions and antelope.

Popular trailheads that offer access into the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness and adjacent “Additions” sport colorful names like Refrigerator Canyon, Hunters Gulch, and Big Log Gulch. In the fall these trailheads are frequently used by traditional hunters on foot and horseback, and in the spring by hikers seeking early-season treks.

REMEMBERING THE PAST, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The Giant and Gates are part of the legacy of Lewis and Clark County, the city of Helena and their surrounding towns. They are symbols of the way of life we have come to know and enjoy in this corner of Montana. Every year, more people arrive in Helena and the surrounding valley to live, work and play. They’re drawn by the mountains and scenic vistas—places like the Sleeping Giant and Gates of the Mountains.

But more people also bring change, which has many positive aspects, but change is something we don’t want to happen to our most precious landscapes and special wild places. We want them to stay the way they are. There’s something we can do to help preserve our quality of life and keep some things the same. We can protect these historic landscapes—the Sleeping Giant, Sheep Creek and Additions to the Gates of the Mountains—as Wilderness.

Volunteers from the Wild Divide Chapter have been meeting with adjacent landowners, hunters and anglers, backcountry horsemen, local elected officials, business owners, historical groups, conservationists, and agency officials to introduce the idea of permanently protecting these landscapes. Volunteers are working to receive feedback, answer questions and build grassroots community support. Hopefully, with a lot of hard work and a little luck, we can build the kind of community support in the coming year that will make our Congressional Delegation stand up and take notice.

As the Helena area continues to grow, permanently protecting the Sleeping Giant, Sheep Creek and Additions to the Gates of the Mountains as Wilderness will help keep the wildlands surrounding our community as they are for generations to come. It will bring the best of Helena’s proud past into Helena’s bright future.