Public lands leave a mark on one’s soul. I’ve laid on my back, feeling the dirt and grass cradle my tired body, and looked into an ever-expansive sky giving new meaning to the name, Big Sky Country. Hunters, hikers, birdwatchers, photographers, and anglers all gather on public lands like the Missouri River Breaks to experience these singular moments of clarity, to reconnect with their humanity, and to leave little more grounded than when they came.
And yet, our public lands are currently under the single greatest coordinated attack they have ever undergone. Earlier this year, Secretary Zinke unilaterally decided to review national monuments and since then, Secretary Zinke, Senator Daines, and Representative Gianforte have increased their efforts to remove permeant protection from legally designated public lands. These actions have largely come as top-down memorandums with little public input from the users of these lands.
We must remember that “Our duty to the whole…bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations, ”Theodore Roosevelt. If we care about the future of our public lands, now is the time to remind our politicians that it is their duty to help us protect our public land legacy.
Last month Wyoming lawyer Karen Budd-Falen came to Hamilton to push her agenda of local control over federal public lands She came to push for local land use plans and how counties can use them to dictate federal land management, something that Budd-Falen has used before in other Western counties to push for local governments to take over federal national forests and other public lands. She was welcomed to Hamilton by a Montana state senator who leads an organization that exists for the sole purpose of transferring federal land to state control.
Yet again, Montanans showed up to let it be known that we want nothing to do with this fool’s errand. It was reminiscent of earlier this year, when well over 1,000 Montanans from all walks of life and all corners of the state packed the capitol rotunda with a simple message – keep public lands public.
The Montana Wildlife Federation helped organize members to show up and make our voice heard. We know that federal public lands are essential to our abundant wildlife, our clean coldwater fisheries and ultimately our rich outdoor traditions. Federal land management is far from perfect – and we know that. But we also know that there are numerous local collaborative groups working to build consensus and improve conditions on the ground. And we’re seeing the results, with strong consensus measures like the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, as well as on-the-ground projects moving forward on places like the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Proponents of transfer say it wouldn’t lead to a sell-off. We know better. Just last month our state legislature held a special session to plug a $220 million budget hole – one driven in a big part by the state’s firefighting bill from a big fire year. If Montanans were stuck with the bill for the federal lands, it would be a budget buster, and we would either fact massive tax increases or be forced to start selling off the land.
Even the Ravalli County Commission rejects the Budd-Falen agenda, and made it clear it wanted nothing to do with her visit. We’re thankful that most Montanans are moving on from this bad idea, and getting down to business to find real land management solutions.
Want to help us push back on efforts to take over and sell off our public lands? Join MWF today!
I’m a 4th and 5th generation Montanan. I’ve had the grand privilege of living and recreating in almost every landscape this great state offers, so I suppose I was quick to take it for granted. That’s just life in Montana—big, wild, and authentic. As of recent, I’ve come to grasp the value of this amazing place. I’m realizing how much Montana is truly entwined in my identity, how the landscape has shaped the lives of the generations before me. My whole life—without my knowing at the time—my parents and grandparents have been teaching me the responsibility of calling yourself “Montanan”.
My great-grandfather homesteaded the Missouri River Breaks before the construction of the Fort Peck Dam. And even after my family was forced to sell their farm, after the Fort Peck Reservoir inundated the Missouri River country, the Breaks remained an integral part in their way of life. The Breaks taught my grandfather patience and perseverance, lessons passed down to me. My dad learned how to hunt in the Breaks, established respect for the animals that made the Missouri River home, and came to understand the value the land could teach us. My childhood is defined by the Breaks. I learned about dinosaur fossils, the thrill of raw discovery, basic survival skills, and how to watch weather there. I even had my first lessons in geology out there—identifying Quartz, Bentonite, and Leavarite (the rock you “leave-a-right” there!) The Breaks have been a scenic arena where I learned endurance, life values, and stories lost to the ever moving current of the Mighty Missouri River.
Preserving existing protections on land in the Missouri Breaks isn’t just about trophy hunting and maintaining recreational activity opportunities. This land is our heritage, our story to be shared and passed down to generations after us.
Nikki Simon is a designer and illustrator living in Helena, Montana. Nikki worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a wildland firefighter while she attended the School of Art at Montana State University in Bozeman. Needless to say, conservation has become an important pillar in her values. She enjoys trail running, hikes with her dog, and fly fishing the mighty Missouri River. To find out more about her and her work, visit www.humbletwig.com.
Proclamations signed today by the President to remove protections from national monuments is being criticized by the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) as a dangerous precedent that calls into question the future of other protected areas across the west.
On Monday, December 4, President Donald Trump ended several months of secrecy and announced that several protections will be removed from the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears National Monument. This action by the President ignores overwhelming view by the majority of American’s who have stated that these places should be left alone. Last May, MWF conducted a scientific poll of Montanans which found that 58% of respondents said that we should leave national monuments the way they are, with an additional 16% calling for more land to be protected through more monument designation rather than less.
In response to the announcement, Montana Wildlife Federation executive director Dave Chadwick said:
“We are extremely disappointed in the President’s decision to ignore the years of local discussions by local residents, Native American tribes, conservation advocates, and other stakeholders that went into designating these national monuments. This decision calls into question the security of all public lands, including Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Unilaterally shutting down and repealing national monuments sets a precedent that will forever leave our Breaks and all public lands vulnerable. This decision shows that the Administration is willing to listen to a handful of extreme voices over the majority of Americans when it comes to our public lands.”
The Montana Wildlife Federation is concerned these recommendations create an atmosphere where future administrations could continue to attempt to shrink public lands and the budgets that maintain them. Actions such as today’s and bills like HR 3990 — supported by Montana Representative Greg Gianforte — are evidence that, if passed, our public lands are under dire threat. If the Department of Interior can roll back monument protections in any monument, nothing prevents future administrations from undertaking the same in other places, including the Missouri River Breaks.
Bill Geer, a resident of Lolo and president of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said:
“Instead of trying to redraw national monuments from the top down, land managers should be working with local communities to develop smart management plans. We know that approach works, because it is what we’ve done here in Montana at the Missouri Breaks. This entire national monuments review process has just been a distraction from the real work of working together to protect public access, wildlife habitat, and multiple use public land management.”
John Salazar, a resident of Livingston and a board member of Montana Wildlife Federation, says today is a defining one in the Trump administration’s attitude towards public lands and public opinion:
“The history books are being written. Today President Trump and Secretary Zinke ignored what the vast majority of Americans want and showed that he is not a good steward of our country’s public lands. Today the government broke ranks with the majority of Westerners who said shrinking or eliminating national monuments hurts our way of life and the outdoor economy.”
The Department of the Interior received over 2.8 million public comments on the Interior Department’s monument review. Independent analysis has found more than 99 percent of the electronic comments received express support for protecting monuments and maintaining them at their current sizes. Montana’s Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board established a tribal resolution affirming support for the Bears Ears National Monument which is on President Trump’s chopping block. Secretary Ryan Zinke is an adopted member of the Tribe. In recent months, over two dozen religious leaders in Montana called Secretary Zinke to make no changes to any national monument. This plea was ignored today.
President Trump will announce Monday his decision on shrinking Bears Ears National Monument. We cannot accept the shrinking of any national monument, as this will set a dangerous precedent, and could put into motion a waterfall of regrettable events that could eliminate access to stunningly beautiful and historic public lands. There has never been a president that has reduced the size of a national monument under the Antiquities Act, and this would be a violation of the Antiquities Act, a slap in the face of the native tribes involved in the fight for Bears Ears, as well as an irreversible disintegration of our shared values of public land access. Bears Ears – 1,351,849 acres controlled by BLM, and USFS – our land, preserved for as a legacy to share with future generations. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. If you have not laid your eyes upon this land, do nothing else until you view several photos and read about what is sacred there. There are 35,000 documented sacred native historical dwelling and spiritual sites, and possibly as much as 100,000 undocumented wonders. Five local Native American tribes are working together to protect this land for all of us to cherish and understand.… Pueblo, Navajo, Hopi, Ute, and Ouray tribes. It would be a travesty to shrink any portion of Bears Ears and lose any more historical artifacts and ancient ruins which define the very purpose of our country – to share land that is not just about one individual or company’s prosperity, but to preserve our past so we can celebrate our future. There is evidence of 10,000 years of Native American residence – longer than any current American community or neighborhood, and up to 3000 years of settlement communities. Bears Ears is also connected to other important sites such as Mesa Verde, Escalante, Canyon Lands, and Arches, where millions of visitors flock each year and support the parks, the land, and the local economies – families like yours and mine.
(Photo by John Fowler-Flick)
What an incredible loss it would be if these lands were disparaged for the short-term financial gain of one or two corporate entities, profiting from actions facilitated by a government that is more interested in the progress of a few than the preservation of lands for many to explore and enjoy now and in the future. The American people cannot allow this to happen as we are unique in the world for our values to protect shared public lands for each other’s benefit. There are areas in Montana, such as Missouri Breaks National Monument, which was considered for downsizing, yet another example of the unacceptable encroachment of our rights to explore and appreciate the wondrous landscape and culture of our country in exchange for short-term gain. Please stand up for your American heritage and fight this encroachment on your rights as a public landowner.
John Salazar is a Montanan, father, hunter, conservationist, and resident of Livingston. This piece by John originally ran in the Livingston Enterprise and Billings Gazette.
Jeff Lukas
Elk Campaign Manager
Jeff Lukas is a passionate conservationist who has been fishing and hunting his entire life. Whether it’s floating a small stream chasing trout, pursuing elk in the high country, or waiting in a blind for ducks to set their wings, Jeff is always trying to bring more people afield to show them what we are trying to protect. He loves being in the arena, and he will never shy away from conversations about the beautiful and unique corners of Big Sky country.
