As the campaign intensifies in HD-62, I must address a critical issue: Public Lands. My opponent has expressed interest in attending the upcoming League of Conservation Voters’ Candidate Forum, but has yet to confirm. I have urgent questions for him, especially concerning his recent change in position on federal public lands.
I did not expect this to be an issue in my race. My opponent’s website previously said he wanted to keep “public lands in public hands–”evidently, we have very different ideas of what that means.
His updated website reveals a concerning stance: he supports transferring federal lands to state control. While he claims this will keep the lands in public hands, the reality is that state lands must generate revenue. How does he intend to raise an additional $500 million in taxes to manage these lands, when we can’t afford to pay our teachers a decent wage and property taxes are sky-high?
Such a transfer would open the door for selling our public lands to the highest bidder at the whim of any future administration.
Imagine Hyalite Reservoir gated off at the mouth of the canyon, an exclusive enclave with mansions blocking access to the wilderness. Or imagine the Smith River drainage ravaged by the hundreds of mining claims within the corridor and our treasured mountain ranges stripped bare of their timber.
This is not hyperbole or fearmongering. This idea isn’t new; we thought it was dormant, if not entirely dead. Remember Bear’s Ears during the Trump Administration. Talk to your conservation-minded friends. Read Billionaire Wilderness. This proposal is nothing short of a privatization scheme.
Our public lands are not just a resource, they are a shared treasure. Any move to transfer ownership would be a direct threat to our economy, our heritage, and the beauty of our natural world.
Josh Seckinger is the Democratic Candidate for Montana House District 62 and a Southwest Montana fly-fishing guide who operates out of Bozeman’s oldest flyfishing shop.