Those Special Places that Make Public Lands Priceless

Earlier this year during the Montana State Legislative Session, you made phone calls to legislators, wrote letters to the editor, or perhaps joined more than five hundred fellow Montanans at a rally with Gov. Steve Bullock – all in support of our public lands. As a result, you helped defeat nearly a dozen dangerous bills aimed at selling our public lands to the highest bidders.

You helped defeat the lands transfer agenda not because of some abstract ideological reason. You did it because you love backpacking along the East Rosebud Trail in the Beartooths, because you love fly fishing along the North Fork of the Blackfoot River, because you love bagging Snowshoe Peak in the Cabinets, because you love hunting in the Missouri Breaks. You did it because there are certain places in Montana, on American public lands, that you hold dear, places where you can live the outdoor way of life that is your birthright. The radical fringe that tried to advance the lands transfer scheme didn’t count on how much we value these special places.

We want to know about what those places mean to you and how we ought to promote and protect them, and so does Gov. Bullock.

Share your ideas and thoughts on promoting and protecting public lands with the governor now. 

You may want to share some thoughts with the governor on how we keep the radical transfer proponents at bay in the next legislature, how we can open access to public lands that private entities have locked us out of, or how we can protect public lands for the next generation of adventurers.  Or you can simply share a precious memory of an experience you had on public lands.

If you'd like to send the governor a photo of your favorite backcountry campsite, a video of your kids fishing in your favorite mountain lake, or anything else visual that expresses how much public lands mean to you, you can email attachements directly to KeepItPublic@mt.gov. (Of course, there’s no need to reveal the exact location of your special places. After all, there are certain places that are just too good to reveal to the world.)

Whatever you share will help the governor fight for our public lands and help him make the indisputable case that public lands are essential to our quality and way of life.

We live and play in Montana for a reason. Access to world-class recreation opportunities abound around every corner – from skiing in the Bridger Mountains to floating any number of blue ribbon trout streams, Montanans truly live in the last best place. At least 71% of us participate in outdoor recreation each year, and that doesn even include hunting and fishing. Losing our public lands would mean losing our way of life.

Our wild country and quiet recreational traditions need a voice. You can be that voice. 

– Clayton Elliott, MWA state policy director