2 Primitive Areas, Natural Area Dedicated in Montana Ceremonies

Two Primitive Areas and a Natural Area on public land in Montana have been dedicated for protection and public enjoyment by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton.

The areas dedicated have been withdrawn from all forms of disposal under the public land laws, including mining, and set aside for specific management purposes.

The three areas, completely separated from each other, total 12,000 acres of natural beauty, scientific importance, and recreational values.

Humbug Spires, where the dedication ceremonies were held for all three areas, consists of 7,041 acres of towering white granite spires located 30 miles south of Butte in southwestern Montana. The land was designated as a Primitive Area.

The spires rise as high as 600 feet above the surrounding mantle of ponderosa pine, attracting geologists, hikers, sightseers, and rock-climbers to the area.

Bear Trap Canyon, which was also designated a Primitive Area, encompasses a scenic 9-mile gorge cut by the Madison River 30 miles west of Bozeman in southwestern Montana.

The 1,047 acre Square Butte Natural Area, 50 miles east of Great Falls in north central Montana, is a major study area for geologists and other natural scientists.

The top of the butte is a flat plateau, inaccessible to

Secretary Morton speaking at Montana dedication.

Bear Trap Canyon

Square Butte

domestic livestock and thus one of the few remaining examples of native western rangeland. Its isolation has preserved it as one of the most unique geological and flora areas of the continent.

Secretary Morton said in dedicating these lands that "their natural beauty, scientific importance, and recreational values all make it imperative that we protect these areas from further encroachment by civilization.

"Americans today and in the generations to come will be able to share the awe and exhileration which Lewis and Clark felt when they first explored this part of Montana."

Gunnison Gorge Recreation Lands, Needle Rock Natural Area Dedicated in Colorado

A 16-mile strip of rugged and scenic canyon country on Colorado's western slope, all of it public land, has been dedicated as the Gunnison Gorge Recreation Lands.

The 30,000-acre Recreation Lands lie along the Gunnison River northwest of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and east of Delta and Mon. trose, Colo.

The lands dedicated have been withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including mining, and set aside for public recreational

use.

The Gunnison Gorge area is mostly steep canyon walls and rocky hillsides, with elevations varying from 5,200 feet on the canyon floor to 7,900 feet at the top of the rim. The outer rims are walls of bright sedimentary rock flaring back from the narrow inner gorge of dark granitic cliffs.

In dedicating the new Recreation Lands, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Public Land Management Harrison Loesch, a Montrose native, pointed out that BLM "considers the recreational resource as one of our priority management responsibilities." (See Jewels in the Crown, p. 14.)

He emphasized that the Bureau's recreation program

will not encourage "elbow-to-elbow" crowds in "large, complex, ultra-developed recreation areas promising something for everyone."

As an example, Secretary Loesch pointed out that Needle Rock, a prominent volcanic spire 15 miles east of the Gorge, was included in the dedication as a Natural Area.

He said that although Needle Rock is only 80 acres in size, its uniqueness qualified it for inclusion as an "island of recreation and beauty.

"It it is this unique island or pocket of recreation which we seek to protect and manage. We want to offer you the satisfaction of finding your own experience, without tripping over everyone."

OUR PUBLIC LANDS Magazine
Will Cost $2 Per Year

OUR PUBLIC LANDS magazine, the official quarterly publication of the Bureau of Land Management which for the past 5 years has sold for $1 per year, will now cost subscribers $2 per year after their current subscription expires.

The Government Printing Office, which publishes and distributes the magazine for BLM, said the new subscription price was a result of increased printing and mailing costs.