Mackinac Island, located where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet, is one of the most beautiful places in America. A sacred place for Native Americans, at various times in history the French, British, and United States flags flew over the island. Every two years, it hosts the Republican Leadership Conference. It was at the 2015 conference where I first met Ryan Zinke.
Ryan was in his first year as Montana’s sole congressman. I had heard about his impressive background as an accomplished military hero and Navy Seal. As far as I know, the only Navy Seal I had met up to that point was Theodore Roosevelt IV. Making a point of meeting Ryan, I was able to corner him during a reception. We hit it off immediately and had an animated discussion about President Theodore Roosevelt and the great GOP conservation legacy, hunting, angling, and public lands.
Our paths next crossed at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. I was there to host a peripheral conference on conservative clean energy strategies. Ryan was his usual energetic and animated self, but I could tell something was eating at him. I found out the next day he had withdrawn as a delegate to the convention in opposition to a plank calling for transferring public lands to the states. Pick your adage – speak softly and carry a big stick or actions speak louder than words.
At 6 a.m., on the morning of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, I met with the leadership of the National Republican Congressional Conference in its D.C. offices. They had called me into D.C. to request ConservAmerica facilitate the creation of a bicameral conservative conservation caucus in Congress. Within eight weeks, the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus was launched, and Ryan Zinke (along with Senator Steve Daines) assumed leadership roles.
When President Trump nominated Ryan to be Secretary of the Interior, I was thrilled. ConservAmerica, along with several other major conservation groups, including National Wildlife Federation, actively supported him through the confirmation process. A highlight for me was attending his nomination hearing and sitting just behind the nominee and his wife.
The Great America Outdoors Act, one of the greatest pieces of conservation legislation to be signed into law in a generation, was accomplished due to the leadership of Ryan Zinke. He and Senator Daines convinced Majority Leader McConnell to take it up, and, later, convinced President Trump to sign the bill. I am forever thankful to him.
Now, back in the House as the Congressman representing the western half of Montana, Ryan is continuing to build his reputation as the standard bearer of the Republican Party’s great conservation legacy. His Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act, Public Lands in Public Hands Act, Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act, and Gateway Communities and Recreation Enhancement Act are just four examples of the incredible work – and leadership – undertaken by Rep. Zinke.
Much of our public lands were set aside by Teddy Roosevelt when he and Gifford Pinchot pulled an all-nighter to identify appropriate places to protect before Congress could rein them in. The original purpose of those public lands was multiple use. Much to the detriment of Montana communities, many in Washington, D.C. who’ve never set foot in places like Libby or Thompson Falls think public lands should be museums and only looked at from byways.
There is no doubt Ryan Zinke will be a key and influential conservation leader during the next Republican administration. There is no one else I trust more to balance those multiple uses of our public lands than him.
Rob Sisson served as Commissioner, International Joint Commission from 2019 to 2024. Prior to that, he was President of ConservAmerica. Sisson lives in Montana’s Shields River Valley.