Wild Livelihoods (wildlivelihoods.com) is a coalition of nearly 200 tourism businesses based in the Gardiner Basin and Paradise Valley of Montana. The strength and success of our industry is based on conservation of the wildlands, waters and wildlife in the region of Yellowstone National Park. Economic prosperity and environmental stewardship is our genesis. We do our part by connecting consumers with our business members who have shared values around open spaces, clean water and air, and sustainable, biodiverse wildlife populations. The Yellowstone River flows through the heart of our landscape, and for many, it serves as the centerpiece that links a thriving tourism economy with healthy fish and wildlife populations. It is also a geophysical reminder that healthy rivers connect us all. That is why as a coalition, we believe unequivocally that the Upper Yellowstone River and its tributaries like Bear Creek, Hellroaring Creek and Slough Creek, are deserving of Wild and Scenic River protections as proposed in the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act.
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Our coalition is made up of lodge owners, outfitters and guides, photographers, film makers, writers, artists, retailers, restaurant proprietors, and ranchers. Montana’s rivers are our common workspace and the source of inspiration that attracts our clients, generates repeat customers, and waters our cattle. Directly and indirectly, our rivers and creeks provide a living for hundreds of business owners and employees in the region. We are a proud contributor to the state’s $7.1B outdoor recreation industry, which represents 4.3% of the Montana’s Gross Domestic Product and ranks number one in the country for how much outdoor recreation contributes to a state’s economy. Tourism injects $500 million annually into Park County alone.
We have come together to protect our heritage, our economy and future generations’ ability to continue family businesses and trades within the outdoor recreation and tourism industry. One way we support this vision is through permanent protection of the state’s most iconic streams flowing through public lands. This is why Wild Livelihoods endorses the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act (MHLA). If passed, the MHLA will create new Wild and Scenic River protections for some of southwest and southcentral Montana’s most important headwaters streams. Wild and Scenic designations protect the free-flowing nature, water quality and remarkable values that make river sections of the Upper Yellowstone, Boulder, Gallatin and Stillwater Rivers unique.
It is our experience that river conservation unites Montanans. No matter your political leaning, Montanans have shown time and time again that clean water and healthy rivers are a shared value. For instance, the East Rosebud Creek Wild and Scenic River Act was passed in August 2018 with the bipartisan support of then-Rep. Greg Gianforte, Sen. Jon Tester and Sen. Steve Daines, and was signed into law by President Donald Trump. A March 2020 University of Montana survey conducted by a bipartisan research team from New Bridge Strategies (Republican) and FM3 Research (Democrat) shows nearly eight of ten Montanans (79%) support the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act.
Wild Livelihoods seeks to perpetuate what is good and improve what could be better for our community, our landscapes, our wildlife, and our future. We endorse the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act because we see this legislation as an investment in our region and a tool to address one of the many complex approaches to sustaining our economy and environment. We ask our representatives to work together as a unified delegation to support and promptly pass the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act.
Ashea Mills, Walking Shadow Ecology Tours of Yellowstone, On behalf of Wild Livelihoods Business Coalition.