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Join us in Standing up for Montana Values and Against the Anti-Public Lands Agenda

We call on Sec. Zinke to publicly denounce Ammon Bundy's "New Code of the West" event in Whitefish
Category: Insights | | 2 min read

Ammon Bundy, leader of the armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and a participant in the standoff against federal and local law enforcement officials at his father's ranch in Nevada, will be speaking at an event taking place in Whitefish, Montana on October 13, and we are calling on Whitefish native and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to publicly denounce this public show of anti-government, anti-public land hostility.

Sign the open letter demanding that Sec. Zinke denounce the anti-public lands extremists

Called the “New Code of the West,” the event is part of a greater effort by the organizers and participants, including Rep. Kerry White, to legitimize an anti-government agenda intent on seizing public lands. Organized by a fringe group of anti-government extremists, the event features other speakers attempting to sow fear, hostility, and division in our communities. 

It goes without saying that this event stands in complete opposition to the values that hold us together as Montanans: respect for our neighbors, and an outdoor way of life enabled by public lands.

That’s why we are calling on Sec. Zinke, who oversees the majority of our public lands, and has vowed to never sell off or transfer public lands, to publicly denounce this event happening in his hometown, an event promoting a militia-inspired ideology that embraces violence against public land managers and law enforcement in an effort to force the United States into disposing of public lands.

Our universal respect for and love of public lands is, in large part, what defines us as Montanans. From the Cabinets to the Bob to Makoshika, every one of us enjoys the special places where we go to hike, hunt, fish, camp, ride horses, snowmobiles, ride OHVs, and bird watch.

Sec. Zinke, as a Montanan, as the overseer of our most of our public lands, and as an American, it’s vital that you denounce this event and show your support for the public lands that unite Montanans and for the Montanans who work under you as public land managers and law enforcement agents.

Sign the open letter

For all those in the Flathead Valley or within reasonable distance of Whitefish, we urge you to join in solidarity with fellow Montanans by attending Montana Undivided: A Rally for Human Rights and Public Lands. Organized by MWA, Montana Wildlife Federation, Montana Human Rights Network, and Love Lives Here, the event is taking place on Saturday, October 13 at 10 a.m. at Depot Park in Whitefish. 

Thank you for your courage in standing up for our public lands.

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