Hyalite Provides — So Must We
Sometimes you just need to disappear into the woods on a snowy day. There’s something in the stillness and the softness that can reset something deep and human. When the world feels a bit weighty, I head to the outdoors. Looking back, I realize I tend to gravitate up into Hyalite Canyon in the winter months to find solitude that the backcountry area always seems to provide.
Hyalite is the epitome of Bozeman’s wild backyard. From ice climbing, cross country and backcountry skiing, mountain biking, camping, dirt biking, and fishing to waterfall chasing and wildlife watching, Hyalite has something for everyone and visitation rates reflect that. In 2023, the Forest Service estimated that Hyalite Canyon saw 30,000 visitors a month in the winter and 60,000 in the summer.
In addition to the unmatched recreation opportunities, Hyalite and the adjacent Bozeman Creek provide arguably the most valuable resource to our community in the form of cold, clean, clear water that accounts for 80 percent of Bozeman’s water supply. As Bozeman and surrounding communities continue to grow, it’s critical that we keep wild spaces like Hyalite the way they are today so future generations can enjoy them as we do.
A snowy road in Hyalite Canyon. (Photo Erin Steva)
The Greater Yellowstone Conservation and Recreation Act will do just that – designating 70,000 acres as the Hyalite Watershed Protection and Recreation Act. Zooming out, the act is proposed legislation that will permanently protect a total of 250,000 acres of public land in the Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges. It will protect drinking water, provide balanced access to outdoor recreation, conserve wildlife habitat, and stop further development in order to forever protect these lands for all of us.
The act will maintain the current trail footprint in the most sensitive habitats, while allowing for strategic trail buildout in two frontcountry areas. One of these areas is the frontcountry of Hyalite Canyon. This area includes the Bozeman Creek and South Cottonwood drainages. Here, the act will allow for buildout of non-motorized connector trails to provide enjoyable access to the outdoors and some of our community’s most-loved trails. In addition, commonsense timber management practices will be allowed in the frontcountry to protect the wildland-urban interface and the City of Bozeman’s valued water supply in the face of wildfire threats.
Emerald Lake in Hyalite Canyon. (Photo Erin Steva)
In contrast, within the backcountry area of Hyalite – delineated by the current Hyalite Porcupine Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area (WSA) boundary – timber harvest and trail expansion will be prohibited to protect the wild nature and important wildlife habitat found here.
Across the 70,000-acre designation, the act will permanently protect against the expansion of motorized trails and use, which the current WSA designation does not do. The backcountry area of the Hyalite Watershed Protection and Recreation Area will replace the overlapping current WSA designation, enhancing the protections for these lands by freezing the current trail footprint. Currently, no protections against trail building exist within the WSA.
View along East Fork Hyalite Trail. (Photo Erin Steva)
Every winter when I hike up into Hyalite, I’m struck by how quiet it becomes after just the first mile. More often than not, I have the place entirely to myself—a rare and special kind of solitude, especially in a place so close and accessible to town. It’s a reminder of how lucky we are to have wild spaces like this within reach. But with that privilege comes responsibility. We owe it to these ecosystems—and to future generations—to recreate thoughtfully and protect what we love. The Greater Yellowstone Conservation and Recreation Act offers a clear path toward permanent protections for places like Hyalite, so they can continue to provide to both people and wildlife for years to come.
Use your voice to protect Bozeman’s wild backyard by endorsing the Greater Yellowstone Conservation and Recreation Act.
– Erin Steva, Greater Yellowstone Coalition