As Congress prepares to slide fossil-fuel giveaways into the next budget bill, a new eight-state poll shows Westerners oppose giving oil and gas companies free-rein over public lands.
Tanya Gates writes, "The chaos in Washington, D.C. will have a disproportionate impact on Montana—a state defined by vast swaths of federally protected and managed public lands."
A Legislative bill that would change Montana’s water rights process has sparked additional opposition due to a proposal to sell off a quarter of all state land to nearby landowners.
Supporting public lands and federal employees can be a walk in the park. But on Sunday, it was a long walk with hundreds of other people in attendance.
Sen. Jeff Merkley hosted a virtual roundtable with fired National Park and U.S. Forest Service employees Tuesday and urged the public to raise concerns with Republicans in Congress.