A DECENT RECORD, BUT NOT EXACTLY A VISIONARY
Did My 2007 Predictions Come True?
It seems to me that predicting the news is a little like predicting the weather. You can be wrong most of the time and still keep your job. I hope the same is true for me.
Last December, I made some bold predictions on what outdoor news you might hear in 2007 and promised to report on if they came true. Here's my report.
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TURNING BACK THE CLOCK TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS
What the Baucus-Crapo Bill DoesAs reported on NewWest.Net a week ago and five days later by daily newspapers, U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) have introduced S. 2438, the Fee Repeal and Expanded Access Act of 2007. The original stories on the introduction, including my article, only offered generalities about intent of the landmark legislation. Since then, a lot of questions have come up on what impact this bill would have when passed.
To answer those questions, I had a long chat with the staffers for Max Baucus who developed the legislation, and here are the details on what this major bill actually does for all of us who enjoy outdoor recreation on public lands.
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BILL BRINGS BACK FREE ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS
Baucus, Crapo Introduce RAT Repeal
As promised in an April interview with NewWest.Net, U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) will introduce a bill on Monday to repeal the Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act (FLREA), called the Recreational Access Tax (RAT) by its many detractors. Joining him as co-sponsor will be U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), making the repeal a true bipartisan effort.
So, Monday morning could be panic time in the offices of the U.S. Forest Service (FS) and other federal agencies currently involved in aggressive fee policy and widespread closure of recreational sites on public lands.
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HAS THE PROBLEM BECOME THE SOLUTION?
Cabela’s and Orvis, Afterthoughts
After two weeks of reading more than 250 comments and having a few heated phone calls about my last two columns on Cabela's and Orvis land brokering divisions, plus a long chat with Cabela's senior vice president Mike Callahan, a few things have become quite clear.
Now, for example, I know exactly how it feels to be a little fireplug surrounded by a pack of big dogs.
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HUNTING AND FISHING ICON SHOULD GET OUT OF REAL ESTATE BIZ
Cabela’s Desecrating its Own Brand
It has taken Cabela's a long time to move into Montana, but now that iconic retailer of hunting and fishing goods finally has a stake in the sand down in Billings, it might be wondering if it was the right decision.
Cabela's has become accustomed to being revered by hunters and anglers, but in Montana, many sportsmen and women now have the opposite attitude, disdain--and they're sending back their catalogs with promises never to spend another penny there. When opening a new store, Cabela's expects the local hunters and anglers who have lusted for years to have a store nearby to more or less knell on the doorstep, but if Cabela's doesn't stop endorsing the loss of public hunting, the corporate VIPs might see people picketing the Billings store opening with anti-Cabela's placards.
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WILD BILL CRUISES IN HIS FIRST ELECTRIC VEHICLE
The ZENN of Driving
After you've driven a million miles like I have, or so it seems, driving really isn't that enjoyable. It's more like a necessary evil, something you need to do to go fishing. And today, with oil supplies dwindling and global climate change being blamed largely on the internal combustion engine, I almost feel guilty when I start up my trusty Toyota.
But last Friday, I suffered no guilt as I cruised around Helena in a new electric vehicle called the ZENN, which stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise, and is called "Earth's Favorite Car," by its makers. I enjoyed every minute of it, and now, you can, too.
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26-YEAR RECORD FALLS
Ashton Angler Lands Record Brown
Wes Case knew there were some big brown trout in Ashton Reservoir, near Idaho Falls, Idaho, and he sure was right. On November 6, after a long battle on 8-pound line, he landed a 37-inch behemoth, weighing 27.3 pounds, big enough for a new Idaho State Record.
Dan Garren, regional fishery biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game verified the weight with a certified scale. The previous record was a 26.5-pounder caught in the South Fork of the Snake River in 1981.
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TIME TO END 135 YEARS OF EXPLOITATION
Mining Law Reform Is a No-Brainer
You have to admire staying power, and there's probably no better example than the General Mining Law of 1872. (No, that isn't one of my typos. It's 1872, not 1972.)
This law, which is an embarrassment to a civilized society, has been on the books for 135 years. The mining industry aided by their republican faithful has spiked dozens of attempts to repeal or reform it, but now, finally, even though it's about a century too late, it looks like some rational regulation of mining our public lands might happen.
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WHY WE MUST MAKE CITIES MORE ATTRACTIVE AND AFFORDABLE
Stand Strong, Whitefish
Over the past week, I've posted three stories on what makes and keeps Whitefish special. You can read them by using the links at the end of this article.
You might think that's a lot of coverage for one little town in northwestern Montana, and you're probably right. Many cities are trying to do the same things, so perhaps Whitefish isn't all that special when it comes to city governance and policy, but it does give us a good example of what cities everywhere in the New West can do to preserve the special nature of their communities.
But can city leaders and their supporters continue to stand strong against mounting pressure to make Whitefish like every other town?
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MORE AND BETTER AND KEEP 'EM COMING
2007 Comments Worth Repeating V
This has been a banner year for insightful, humorous and satirical comments from readers. I actually posted five of these Comments Worth Repeating articles, so far, and I have put together a chronology of them following this article, just in case you want to go back and read more of them. If you do, you won't be disappointed.
If you want even more of the best, check out the Comments Worth Repeating Chronology.
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