Whitetail/Haystack/O'Neill (WHO) Roadless Area, Montana

Whitetail Meadows, W.H.O. Roadless Area, Montana (USA) is a huge "hydrologic sponge" but is being damged by ORVs. Photo: Phil Knight / NFN

This 84,000-acre roadless area, between Whitehall, Butte and Boulder on the Deerlodge National Forest, Montana, is part of a key wildlife migration corridor between Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. Whitetail, Haystack and O'Neill Creek roadless areas are contiguous, but were inventoried separately in the Forest Service's Roadless Area Review and Evaluation process. Prime wolf and wolverine habitat is found here, as well as a significant Westslope cutthroat trout population. Lynx, Marten, and Bald Eagle are also residents here. Whitetail Park, in the center of the area, may be Montana's largest "hydrologic sponge." This area of unique and fragile wetlands recharges many underground aquifers, including water supplies for the town of Whitehall. Motorized "recreation" is the biggest threat to this remote and fragile area, which is targetted by the Forest Service for increased Off Road Vehicle (ORV) use. Severe and intentional damage by ORV riders recently occured in the wet meadows near the Whitetail Reservoir. The entire area is characterized by extremely unstable granitic soils which are easily damaged by ORVs. The Delmoe Lake area has already been heavily damaged by ORVs.

Ongoing Protection Efforts

The Southwest Montana Wildlands Alliance (SMWA) has developed the Conservationists' Alternative for Whitetail-Pipestone Recreation Area, which includes the WHO area. SMWA also recently succeeded in getting several key areas on the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest closed to motorized vehicles!

Contact

SMWA, 2710 Amherst Ave., Butte, MT 59701