By Jennifer Rokosch, Stevensville
Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), are an extremely controversial issue in Montana due to Senator Steve Daines and congressional representative Greg Gianforte. Rather than opening the doors for community-based conversations about the many values of wilderness, these two decision makers developed their bills without any public hearings and fabricated them behind closed doors in places like Washington D.C. and Ravalli County. Not only were these locations hidden from most Montanans, they favored a top-down approach and only represented their favored constituency: mining companies, oil and gas interests, timber interests, and motorized recreation.
In collusion with Senator Daines, Ravalli County Commissioners wrote a letter of support for his senate bill S. 2206, before it was even developed, also without any public hearings. After being challenged that their letter was unlawful, county commissioners “generously” provided a second hearing located in Hamilton on Wednesday morning, February 7th, to actually hear from their constituents. The meeting’s original location at the regular meeting room had to be moved to the fairgrounds due to an overwhelming amount of attendees. At said hearing, 153 people signed in as opposed to Daines bill with only 43 in favor, 80% that testified were from Ravalli County, and 72% of Ravalli County testimony was opposed to Sen. Daines bill. Despite these statistics, Ravalli Commissioners still claim overwhelming local support in favor of Senator Daines’s bill.
As undemocratic as Daines’s process may seem, Greg Gianforte’s track record is even worse when regarding public involvement in the development of his two bills, H.R. 5148 and H.R. 5149. Unlike Daines, Gianforte provided no fallacy that he cared about the interests of the public, providing no opportunity for community discussion and gave no illusion of this interest because he didn’t even entertain the idea of involving county commissioners let alone hold ANY public hearings. However, Greg Gianforte, in response to a constituent, states, “I understand how important our public lands are to our local economies, communities, and, more importantly, our very way of life. Our state is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes and ecosystems in the country.” If this is a true statement, its basis is quite unclear as it is questionable.
Senator Daines and Representative Gianforte need to abandon their bills and quit claiming local and national support and focus on an all-encompassing approach to developing legislation. They are supposed to represent all Americans, especially Montanans, and I think it’s about time that they start doing their job.