If you were looking for any real journalism concerning public lands coverage over the weekend- don’t waste your time. (Maybe everyone was celebrating The University of Montana School of Journalism Centennial over the weekend?)
You may as well have called the rally featuring Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and some dark money connected environmental groups the “rally against state lands.”
All of those stories surrounding the supposed “Keep It Public” rally in Helena, Montana basically consisted of press release journalism. The rally was meant to showcase opposition to the concept of transferring some federal lands into state hands. (I guess no one informed them that state lands are “public lands.”)
Leave it to former one-term Republican Secretary of State Bob Brown to deviate from the script, though. Most Montanans would prefer Montanans, rather than New Yorkers, make land management decisions when it comes to Montana lands. Not Bob Brown, apparently.
Here’s how Brown was quoted by The Helena Independent Record:
Former Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown took to the podium and gave a brief summation of his favorite American’s conservation views. He continued by echoing Teddy Roosevelt’s vision for public lands within the context of the current situation.
“By virtue of federal lands, such lands belong to people of Delaware and Kansas and Pennsylvania just as much as they belong to those of use currently living here,” said Brown. “Why would the rest of the country want to just give 25 million acres of their land to the state of Montana?”
As for the special interest groups who planned the rally, Montana Media Trackers has this: Leftist Tied Group Leads Upcoming “Public Lands” Rally
A planned rally in Helena on Saturday to protest the so-called “takeover of federal lands by the state” is being led by an organization with ties to left-wing dark money efforts, including the left-wing, Washington, D.C.-based political consulting firm Hilltop Public Solutions.
BHA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that is technically prohibited from partisan political activities. Tawney, however, is also a key figure in a connected organization called Montana Hunters and Anglers (MHA) that worked extensively to get Democratic candidates State Sen. Kendall Van Dyke and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester elected in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
BHA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that is technically prohibited from partisan political activities. Tawney, however, is also a key figure in a connected organization called Montana Hunters and Anglers (MHA) that worked extensively to get Democratic candidates State Sen. Kendall Van Dyke and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester elected in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
Oddly enough, it was some of those same groups who were advocating that the state spend more of your taxpayer dollars to acquire state land. Now, they’re bashing state land management agencies and saying that the state can’t afford more land. (Note- in the last 20 years, the State of Montana has spent over $113 million acquiring land. If they can spend $113 million to acquire, why can’t they transfer it for free? Pro-tip for you anti-state land folks…take screenshots of all these politicians saying how the state can’t afford more land, and use them the next time someone proposes funding for land acquisitions at the state legislature)
Caption contest? @jontester w/ #DarkMoney Tawney at 9/27/14 #KeepItPublic rally http://t.co/in1CTm120Z #MTPol #MTNews pic.twitter.com/Wmj6p5a3O2
— Matthew Koehler (@KoehlerMatthew) September 29, 2014
ICYMI- the founder of Montanans for Multiple Use, Clarence Taber, had this in The Flathead Beacon: It’s Time to Consider Transferring Public Lands
As a U.S. Forest Service retiree, I know the benefits of a well-managed forest. Over the last 20 plus years, I have seen the federal government’s “on the ground” forest management deteriorate. Lack of timber sales and excessive access closures have not served the public or the resource well.
Many years ago I helped found Montanans for Multiple Use (MFMU) as a way to involve the public in the decision making process of forest planning. We opposed the Forest Service spending public funds to rip out dozens upon dozens of perfectly good access routes. We won’t accept the Forest Service’s reduced timber harvest and bad land management practices. We have lost our access and have overgrowth that causes unstoppable wildfires. That day is upon us and it is time for change.Montanans For Multiple Use advocates responsible, balanced use of public land. he Forest Service has destroyed multiple use roads, restricted access reserving our public lands for a select few. Today’s Forest Service is controlled by out-of-touch Washington D.C. bureaucrats, liberal judges, and environmentalists who don’t care about balance or have a clue how to achieve healthy forests.
This fall, Montanans for Multiple Use plans to sponsor an open, professionally moderated debate to air out both sides of the Transfer of Public Lands issue. As soon as the date is set everyone will be invited.