Bob Marshall Wilderness Country ("The Bob") #2
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 47° 01.194 W 113° 07.912
12T E 337986 N 5209581
Historical marker commemorating the Bob Marshal Wilderness located at the Brand Bar Museum in Ovando, Montana.
Waymark Code: WM23FE
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/29/2007
Views: 28
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Country ("The Bob")
North of here lies the second largest wilderness in the lower 48 states.
Made up of the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and great bear wilderness areas, its
north end abuts Glacier National Park, creating a continuous corridor of
unspoiled mountains and valleys that harbor grizzly bears, mountain goats,
wolverines, elk, moose, deer and wolves.
Montana first protected part of this country in 1913 when the Sun River
Game Preserve was created on the east side of the continental divide.
Years of market hunting to supply miners and settlers with meat had decimated
the elk herds.
Bob Marshal (1901-1939), pioneer forester and conservationist of the
1930's, was years ahead of his time in recognizing and campaigning for the
inherent value of wilderness. His vision helped awaken the U.S. Forest
Service to the need to conserve a portion of the vanishing wildlands from which
our American heritage had been formed. Before his premature death, he had
secured protection for nearly 5.5 million acres, including most of the area that
was later to bear his name. Montanans convinced Congress to add the
Scapegoat in 1972 and the Great Bear in 1978.
Though wilderness must be balanced with other uses of National Forests, it
protects resources for us all, like watersheds, fisheries, and wildlife.
Someone once asked Bob Marshall how much wilderness America really needs. In
reply he asked, "How many Brahms symphonies do we need"? ~ text of marker