By Hughes Creek Landowners: Jay and Tracy Bugli, Wade and Charlene Cox, Violet Cox
In recent months our elected county representatives have stirred up a major public controversy over the issue of “dark money” contributions to environmental organizations in Montana. They have written to both the Attorney General and the Governor requesting investigations to determine if specific environmental organizations and other non-profit public interest groups receive and use out of state or foreign contributions to engage in advocacy efforts in Montana.
The hypocrisy in that request is astonishing to us, as Hughes Creek landowners and targets of the commissioners’ efforts to satisfy the demands of some of these same types of organizations to deny our private property rights.
In light of this, we have today written to both the Governor and the Attorney General requesting that any investigation conducted include our concerns. Our letters requested, “If any investigation is conducted we would like to know if the Ravalli County Commissioners and their legal representatives have been unduly influenced or coerced into these actions by Montana environmental organizations supposedly working in the public interest using ‘dark money’ contributions from outside groups.”
For more than two years we have been engaged in a legal battle with the county over the gate on Hughes Creek Road, a battle that was instigated and advocated by activists and attorneys from several environmental organizations, including the Public Land/Water Access Association, Montana Wildlife Federation and Ravalli County Fish & Wildlife. At every turn, the county commission and its legal representatives have attempted to thwart our efforts by refusing to provide evidence or to consider any evidence that weighs in our favor and against their claims.
As we explained to the Governor and the Attorney General in our letters:
“Now that the commissioners have introduced this controversy over ‘dark money’ and environmental organizations, we have to wonder if perhaps that is why we have been subjected to such an unfair situation. Why are the commissioners pushing so hard to get their way, without investigating thoroughly, and giving no consideration to the rights of the landowners?
“Perhaps it is the ‘dark money’ influence of the environmental organizations that are so determined to open this road to public use, for their own reasons. We don’t know, but we would certainly like to know if our legal expenses are the result of undue influence from non-profit corporations with deeper pockets than ours because of out of state and/or foreign contributions.”
If the Ravalli County Commissioners are truly concerned about “well-funded organizations who engage in blatant, and extremely misleading political activity with little or no public disclosure,” then maybe they need to be looking at some of their own decisions within this arena.