This week, PCEC submitted our comments on the East Crazy Inspiration Divide Land Exchange. Our 22-page comment is the result of years of personal experience in the range, and we hope the feedback will lead to a more thorough analysis of the proposal and improved outcomes for conservation and the community.

You can read our full comment letter here, and you have until this Friday, December 23, to give your own comments.

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The Crazies mean a lot to everyone on staff at PCEC. For the last several years, we’ve been showing up, spending late nights in bars and church halls listening to neighbors, hosting open houses to hear from locals, walking for days and sleeping out nights on the ground, learning about the land, and talking to people who have spent their lifetimes on it. We have also dug into the history and oral traditions of the people that came before us, gaining an understanding of the changes in land management policies that separated people from the land and one another. Many of these policies, like the land grants given to the railroad, created the foundation of the conflict we experience today.

We also know how important the Crazies are to the entire community. The high alpine meadows with lush wildflowers. The lakes, full of fish and cold swimming holes. The creeks where you can drink straight snow melt. The mountain goats, the elk, the black bears and everything else. They’re a place that connects us to each other, to nature, and to ourselves. They’re a place that humbles us again and again.

Probably one of the biggest, and most under-recognized benefits of this project is relational. We are very supportive of the Forest Service and their efforts to collaborate with area landowners and other diverse interests to consolidate federal land and resolve longstanding access issues. Like PCEC, local Forest Service personnel have also been showing up to community meetings and forging new relationships. It resulted in the new Porcupine Ibex trail. It created the conversation out of which this project emerged. It is facilitating dialogue about long-term stewardship of the landscape.

This is a good thing. It’s working, and it is essential.

The East Crazy Inspiration Divide Land Exchange aligns with our long-term vision of a consolidated and contiguous public landscape with secured public access and permanent designation of the national forest lands.

However, we have concerns with several aspects of the Preliminary EA. If it went forward as-is, the public stands to permanently lose a historic access point and trail, and two sections that are well worth a 20-plus mile hike to visit and camp on. Without clarity on permissive access to Sweetgrass Road and Trail, and Rein Lane, conflict between the public and landowners has the potential to continue. Without restrictions on lands transferred from the Forest Service to private landowners, this exchange has the risk of facilitating development.

To achieve the stated benefits of the land exchange such as “to conserve the existing character of the Crazy Mountains”, “improve public recreational access” and “increase protection of important traditional cultural areas” we recommend the Forest Service:

Analyze impacts of “reasonably foreseeable” development on wildlife, habitat and cultural resources on all lands that would become private post exchange;
Ensure that important habitat and cultural sites are protected with permanent deed restrictions or conservation easements preventing residential, commercial, industrial and mineral development;
Reserve public and administrative access or any existing easements on Sweetgrass Road and Trail.
Provide clarity on how, when, and where permission can be obtained for accessing Sweetgrass via Rein Lane.
Conduct deep and inclusive engagement and consultation with all regional Indigenous Nations that identify as being connected to the Crazy Mountains.
Preserve and enhance the quiet, undeveloped, unroaded characteristics of the Crazy Mountains by taking steps towards permanent designation of the South Crazy Recommended Wilderness, Crazy Mountains Backcountry Area and the Crazy Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area.
Consider alternatives that allow for the Eagle Park and the riparian public lands in Sections 8 and 10 be retained or exchanged for lands with comparable ecological and recreational value.

In this preliminary EA, we believe that there is not enough information to determine whether the current proposal is worth going “all in” for. The Forest Service needs to complete its analysis. The Forest Service needs to propose additional alternatives. The public needs to be given the opportunity to weigh in and comment again to help make that determination.

This is an extremely rare opportunity to have the Forest Service, willing landowners, and diverse interest groups engaging on an issue that will impact the landscape forever. How the Forest Service proceeds could be a model for handling land use conflict, or not, but we urge the Agency to thoughtfully consider the comments, the science, and the cultural studies to make the best possible decision for people and wildlife. This is our one chance to get it right.

Lastly, we need people like you to engage in order to achieve the best outcome.

We look forward to continued engagement in the Crazies and will provide more feedback once the analysis is complete in future comment periods. With our cumulative voices together, we will make better decisions for the future of this landscape and our communities.

PCEC comments on East Crazy Inspiration Divide Land Exchange Preliminary Environmental Assessment