WILL IT END OR EXTEND THE WILDERNESS DROUGHT?

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership: Right Idea, Wrong Bill

For four years, I've been writing about what I've coined the "Wilderness Drought," 25 years of frustration and infighting since we've seen a single acre of Wilderness designated in Montana. Now, several mainstream groups have joined forces with representative of the wood products industry in a grand attempt to end it.

The political reality of today requires this collaborative, "bottom-up" approach because politicians are so gun-shy about Wilderness legislation. They only want lay-ups with all stakeholders already on board, which is the motivation behind this upcoming legislation. After decades of nothing, Montana wilderness advocates have decided to play the new, quid pro quo game to have some chance of success.

Regrettably, this flawed bill looks more like a half-court shot for our congressional delegation and could extend instead of end the Wilderness Drought.

WE NEED THIS GUST OF FRESH AIR

Please, Let it be Grijalva for Interior Secretary

Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post and several bloggers are naming Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as a "leading contender" for Obama's pick for Secretary of the Interior. This cabinet position usually goes to a westerner, and Grijalva would be an excellent choice.

He current chairs the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and has been an outspoken advocate for protecting national parks, wilderness and wildlife habitat in the West, recently opposing the Bush Administration's plans for oil and gas leasing and coal mining in critical areas and resisting deep cuts in national park budgets.

THE CONFESSIONS OF A REGULAR NUT

What I’ve Learned from Gun Nuts

I'm not a gun nut. I'm a regular nut who owns guns, but only to hunt, not to defend my home and family, join the militia or fight the forces of tyranny.

Gun nuts don't scare or intimidate me. Instead, I'm learning a few things from them. You can, too.

PERFECT PLACE FOR BLUE TIDE TO QUICKLY MAKE ITS MARK

Time to Codify the Roadless Rule

On January 5, 2001, with George W. Bush's moving van parked at the back door of the White House, President Bill Clinton signed his now-infamous Roadless Rule. With a stroke of his pen and without the approval of Congress, Clinton protected almost one-third of our national forests, 58.5 million acres, from road building.

The incoming Bush administration immediately reversed the rule, but a judge rapidly reversed the reversal. Ever since, the Roadless Rule has been a tennis ball, back and forth, on and off, mired in a ridiculous succession of administrative rules and court cases, making it hard to decide who's ahead in the game. As I write this, to emphasize the folly, two judges have made opposing rulings, one spiking the Roadless Rule, one re-affirming its validity.

So I say, let's end the tennis match and make the Roadless Rule the law of the land.

THE SCARIEST THING THAT HAPPENED ON HALLOWEEN

Gun Lobby Attack Dogs Strike Again

Something extremely scary happened last Friday on Halloween. Dan Cooper, President and Founder of Cooper Firearms of Stevensville, Montana, resigned.

Not so scary, you say. Well, wait until you hear why. If you believe in freedom and that there's a reason why the right to free speech is the First Amendment, prepare to be terrified.

Editor's note: Links to three updates at the end of the story.--Bill Schneider

Revisiting The Cabela’s Controversy

Last year I wrote a series of articles about concerns voiced by Montana hunters about Cabela's Trophy Properties, the real estate marketing division of the world's largest retailer of hunting, fishing and camping gear, Cabela's.

Facing a rapid decline in access to both private and public land, the last thing Montana hunters needed was "one of their own," Cabela's, to launch headlong into the amenity real estate business and further speed up the loss of huntable land.

Fueled by the state's largest sporting group, the 7,000-member-strong Montana Wildlife Federation, the issue became white-hot controversial. The MWF even asked its members to return their catalogs to Cabela's with letters protesting the new venture. Hundreds of them did exactly that and, suddenly, hunters had the company's big-time attention and promises to do what it could to smooth out the ruffled feathers.

But did the firestorm really change anything? Or a year later, is Cabela's Trophy Properties (CTP) doing business as usual?

Rule Allowing More Mountain Biking in National Parks No Big Deal

Before I launch once more into the endless mountain biker vs. hiker controversy, I want to reaffirm that I'm still not a mountain biker. I commute around town on paved streets on my mountain bike, but it has never been on a trail.

Even though you could say I don't have a dog in the fight, I have to ask, why do we have so much heartburn over the proposed rule to allow mountain biking on more trails in our national parks? Is this really worth the stress it creates?

LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS TAKES THE LEAD

Making States Bicycle Friendly

What makes a state bicycle friendly? That's a question just taken up in earnest by a Beltway-based bicycle advocacy group called the League of American Bicyclists.

In August, the League issued its first annual "Ranking of Bicycle Friendly States." Out here in the New West, Washington won the sweepstakes, named the most bicycle friendly state of them all, followed closely by Oregon in fourth place. After that, it doesn't look nearly as friendly--Utah (11), Wyoming (18), Colorado (22), Idaho (37) and the worst of the region, my state, Montana (44). Ouch!

So, I had to ask why?

Montana's Wilderness Drought

Massive Public Lands Bill Leaves Out Montana

I've written extensively about Montana's Wilderness drought, 26 years and counting without Congress designated one acre of the Big Sky State as Wilderness. Now, Congress seems poised to pass S. 3213, a massive public lands bill, a collection of 90 wilderness and watershed protection bills covering almost every state.

For Montana wilderness advocates, it's another in a long line of no shows. In fact, Montana gets less than zero.