By Michael Howell
The Ravalli County Natural Resource Recovery Committee has sent each candidate in the local elections a letter asking them to pledge their support for the Natural Resource Use Policy which the committee drafted and is currently under review by the Board of County Commissioners. No final draft has yet been approved by the commissioners.
The committee also asks each candidate to “pledge to support and promote the process of coordination between Ravalli County and the federal government agencies in an effort to provide Ravalli County with a formal role in negotiations with the federal agencies regarding management and use of Ravalli County natural resources.”
The same committee held a partisan political rally a few weeks ago at the Eagles Lodge in Hamilton which was advertised as a committee-sponsored informational meeting about the proposed natural resource policy. Instead, Republican candidates running for office spoke in favor of the “coordination” process and people were advised to support Republican candidates in each race, making it appear that the committee is simply an offshoot of the Republican Central Committee, members of which manned a table at the entrance to the event.