I attended and testified at the county commissioners’ meeting concerning Steve Daines’ WSA delisting bill, SB 2206. As is now common knowledge, this meeting was held after the commissioners had already made their decision and sent a letter of support to Senator Daines.
Although testimony from county residents was vastly in favor of protecting the Blue Joint and Sapphire WSAs, the commissioners chose to disregard this. Considering the political makeup of the commission, this was perhaps not surprising.
At a later date, also in Hamilton, Senator Daines arrived an hour before his announced time, meeting with mechanized supporters of his bill, and some commissioners. Then, rather than meeting with constituents opposed to SB 2206, he skipped town when the meeting was supposed to begin. This was planned, juvenile behavior, unbefitting to a United States Senator.
This whole SB 2206 affair has been crafted behind closed doors in DC, just the kind of “top down” management process Daines purports to dislike. It seems obvious that Washington DC decision making is OK with the senator, if it’s something he approves of.
For those of us concerned with wild lands, clean water, and its associated wildlife…. hunters, hikers, horseback riders, fishermen, and wildlife watchers, it’s time to consider carefully who you vote for. Keep in mind that the only human activities not currently allowed in the WSAs are those that will degrade them. Once released, they can never be replaced. We Montanans are so fortunate to live where we have much of what’s left of wild America, while so many states have nothing at all.
As was recently pointed out to me, we do not live in a democracy, but rather a “representative republic.” In this system, we elect people to make decisions for us. When those people no longer openly and honestly meet with and consider their constituents opinions, it’s time to make changes.
Michael Koeppen
Florence