Ask any Montanan what they love most about the Treasure State, and they will likely mention something that was made possible by the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
Since it was established in 1965, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has invested nearly $600 million into Montana’s economy by protecting the lands, waters, and wildlife that define our way of life. Among those places are the Yellowstone River, lands around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, fishing access sites from Sydney to Darby to Troy, family farms and ranches in valleys across the state, countless sports fields, playgrounds, and community pools like those in Miles City and Glasgow, trail systems in Helena’s South Hills, Whitefish, and on Mount Jumbo.
Every single Montanan benefits from the Land and Water Conservation Fund in one way or another; no surprise that our congressional delegation has traditionally fought very hard to promote it.
For decades, Sens. Max Baucus and Conrad Burns worked together to fund LWCF to address critical fishery infrastructure needs on the Yellowstone River and to protect public access as Montana’s forest industry changed. More recently, Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines both co-sponsored the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, which permanently reauthorized and fully funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million annually. Then-Rep. Greg Gianforte also supported the legislation, which was signed into law by former President Donald Trump.
Support for this program should be a no-brainer for any elected official who understands and cares about Montana. However, Rep. Matt Rosendale apparently feels differently. Rosendale introduced legislation recently to prevent federal agencies from using the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 2024.
One of his bills would cap land protection by the Bureau of Land Management at $28.3 million – a 60% cut. Other bills would outright prohibit the National Park Service, U.S. Fish Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service from using the Land and Water Conservation Fund monies. In that scenario, Montana would lose key public land additions when a future sale threatens elk winter range or critical trout habitat.
Rosendale claims that these bills are necessary to balance the federal budget. But the Land and Water Conservation Fund has no impact on the federal budget. It’s a “budget neutral” program, an offset with funds from offshore oil and gas drilling. Defunding public land protection will not bring the federal budget one dollar closer to balance.
This bill makes zero sense in an outdoors state but to offer an analogy, a representative from Montana defunding public land protection is as ridiculous as a representative from Maryland defunding water conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay.
If his bills become law, the greatest natural places left could be lost to development forever. More luxury mansions built in the heart of Glacier National Park, more “no trespassing” signs on the Gallatin River, and more locked gates in the Bitterroot Mountains. While that might be welcome news to out-of-staters seeking their slice of Yellowstone Country, it’s a slap in the face to all Montanans who cherish our public lands and waters, our $7 billion outdoor economy, and our way of life.
It’s hard to tell whether Rosendale expects these proposals to be taken seriously or if he is just looking for attention, but this is not leadership.
Montana needs leaders who use their power to help – not hurt – our outdoor heritage for current and future generations. We need leaders who are serious about the legislative process, and who will recognize their mistakes and make course-corrections. To augment Montana’s premier outdoors, we encourage everyone to become an ambassador. Get familiar with your local LWCF projects and urge leaders to know and support this program and its local benefits. Our Montana way of life depends on it.
Mary Hollow is executive director of Prickly Pear Land Trust; Jim Stone is with Rolling Stone Ranch in Ovando; and Randy Newberg is the founder of Fresh Tracks Media in Bozeman