Our public lands are crucial to Montana’s heritage and our economy. Montanans hunt, fish, camp, and hike on public lands more than anybody else in the nation. Our access to the outdoors is why we live here, and it’s why tourists from all over the world visit Montana. Just last week, a poll found that 83 percent of Montanans believe that public lands are important for “protecting our culture and heritage.”
Over the last few years, Montanans from across the political spectrum have been working together to fight against proposals to transfer and sell off our public lands. These proposals are being advanced by special interests who believe that our public lands should be developed and sold off instead of protected for future generations. Thanks to the hard work of thousands of Montanans, we have stopped the public land grab dead in its tracks. Not a single bill has made it through the Montana Legislature, and our Congressional delegation is united in opposition to this idea at the federal level.
But fighting bad ideas isn’t enough. We also need to push forward to expand public access the outdoors and protect more lands for future generations. Our heritage, our economy, and our Montana way of life depend on it.
Today, Governor Steve Bullock announced a plan to defend and improve public access to public land in Montana. The Governor has called for:
• Continued vigilance against the transfer and sale of our public lands
• Full funding of Habitat Montana, which uses hunting license fees to open up access and protect habitat
• Creating a new Office of Outdoor Recreation to support outdoor economic development
• Creating a Public Access Specialist who will work to address specific problems with land and water access
These proposals will help Montana’s hunting, fishing, and outdoor heritage and support our economy. Now we need to work to get our Legislature and other Montana leaders on board. You can send a message to the Governor about his plan by visiting mtgreatoutdoors.org.
