Following weeks of controversy surrounding a proposal to quarry a popular and longstanding multi-pitch granite climbing area in Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains, the US Forest Service extended the public comment period to July 31, 2007. In early June climbers got word that the Darby Ranger District was considering Ravalli County’s application for a special use permit to operate an industrial quarry for ten years in Lost Horse Canyon. In late June Access Fund Policy Director Jason Keith traveled to Montana to meet with climbers, Ravalli County Commission, the US Forest Service, and the staff from US Senators Tester and Baucus to urge reconsideration of this unreasonable proposal. After climbers, wildlife enthusiasts, and local homeowners and businesses complained, the Ravalli County Commission is taking another look at whether to pursue the project. For more information see the Bitterroot Climbers Coalition website http://bitterrootclimbers.org/news/, and the Access Fund’s comment letter opposing the mine www.accessfund.org/pdf/losthorse.pdf

Lost Horse Canyon is considered by many climbers to be the gem of the Bitterroot National Forest. A traditional-style climbing Mecca complete with multiple 100 foot pitches, a plethora of incredible cracks and the rare occasional pin or bolt-protected crux leading to solid anchors. On par with some of the best pitches in places like Tuolumne, splitter cracks and crisp edges rise above the pristine emerald waters of Lost Horse Creek with the rugged summits of the Como Peaks and Tin Cup Ridge towering to the south. Similarly, Yosemite-quality boulders litter the magical Ponderosa and Fir forests along the valley bottom. The Forest Service wants to set up an industrial site for operating the quarry from Oct-April for the next 10 years. Gates, closures, heavy equipment operation and expansion of the footprint of the quarry are planned. Re-activation of the quarry will negatively impact the scenic nature of the area, produce noise, disrupt wildlife such as migrating herds and peregrine falcons (which nest on the cliff), create a bigger footprint scar in the area and basically make the area too dangerous or impossible to climb at.

The Lost Horse Quarry proposal would also work against US Forest Service policy that seeks “action toward enhancing America’s public lands and recreation resources” by destroying the recreational resource at Lost Horse and ignoring the needs of the recreation community in Montana and those that visit from abroad. A new industrial quarry site at Lost Horse will also choke off visitation that will, in turn, dry up tourist dollars in the Darby-Hamilton area of the Bitterroot Valley. Home values near the gravel plant or new trucking route will also be negatively impacted. This mining proposal does not recognize or consider the unique recreational asset of Lost Horse. Many climbers and other users enjoy Lost Horse every month of the year, and even if climbers are somehow accommodated, the USFS grossly underestimates the safety and access issues at Lost Horse.