The Place The Great Burn Conservation Alliance (GBCA) mission area encompasses 1.8 million acres of national forest land that straddle the Montana-Idaho state line in the northern Bitterroot Mountains between Lolo Pass and Lookout Pass. This landscape encompasses 42 roadless areas that provide a mosaic of charred snags, intact forests and woodlands, riparian streamsides, lakes, open meadows, shrublands, tundra, and rocky barren areas. Forest Plans for the Lolo and Clearwater National Forests recommend 275,000 acres in Montana and Idaho for Congressional designation as the Great Burn Wilderness. The 255,700-acre Mallard Larkins roadless area in Idaho is managed in part as recommended wilderness and in part as a 13,948-acre “Pioneer Area.” The Forest Service manages the remainder of the GBCA mission area under a variety of protective strategies and allowable uses. Our Story In the summer of 1971, a group of University of Montana students took a 21-day backpacking trip into the northern Bitterroot Mountains. They fell in love with the area, and emerged from the experience committed to its long-term protection. The Great Burn Conservation Alliance (GBCA) was born, and its members have cared for and protected the land that they love ever since. Over the course of 40 years, GBCA has remained a small, local, and intently focused grassroots organization. The group has adopted this remarkable landscape, advocating for its protection and becoming personally involved in its day-to-day management. In addition, GBCA has built a network of partners who have come to know and love the area. Over the years, volunteers recruited from within the community have also become aware of this special place and taken ownership in its care. Collaborative efforts have, in recent years, become an important vehicle for engaging other stakeholders in protecting the Great Burn and adjacent undeveloped wildlands in the GBCA mission area.