Page 29 - Flathead Beacon // 9.14.16

UNCOMMON GROUND MIKE JOPEK NO-NONSENSE
GUEST COLUMN TERRY ANDERSON
COME NOVEMBER, SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton will likely lose Montana’s three electoral votes according to results of a recent Washington Post online poll.
On the surface that appears like terri- ble news for state Democrats, yet history shows that Montanans are quite indepen- dent when it comes to casting ballots.
In 2004 elections Democrat Brian Sch- weitzer bested Republican Bob Brown by 20,000 votes to become Montana’s next governor, yet voters chose Republican George W. Bush by a margin of 93,000 votes.
In 2008 state voters gave Republican John McCain our electoral votes with an 11,000-vote margin over President Barack Obama. That year, Schweitzer won reelection by a whopping 160,000- vote margin over Republican Roy Brown.
In 2012 Republican Mitt Romney won Montana with a 66,000-vote margin while Democratic Governor Steve Bull- ock won election with an 8,000-vote mar- gin over Republican Rick Hill.
In 2004 Democrats had gained control of both chambers of the Montana Legis- lature. By 2010 Republicans controlled both chambers of the Legislature and have maintained that power since.
Montana Republicans are in charge of statewide policy like budgetary sur- pluses and property taxes. It’s the state Legislature that writes laws and appro- priates public funds for public services like education.
In a recent study called National Forces in State Legislative Elections, Steven Rogers points out that, while the presidential elections top ballots, voters also choose 5,000 state legislators across the nation come November.
Rogers maintains that most voters don’t know or often care about state lawmakers. Rogers surmises that these important choices are less about local and statewide politics, rather about the popu- larity of the sitting American president.
That appears as bad news for state Democrats seeking to regain control the Legislature. The Washington Post poll suggests that Obama’s popularity in Mon- tana is 41 percent.
On the ranking of issues that matter most to voters, the poll suggest it’s jobs
and economy, healthcare, terrorism and environment all with descending dou- ble-digitpublicsupport.
When included in a four-way race, the Washington Post poll says that Green Party candidate Jill Stein is at 5 percent and Libertarian Gary Johnson at 14 per- cent. Donald Trump’s Montana support falls to 44 percent while Clinton is sud- denly at 31 percent.
On TV’s Face the State with politi- cal scientist David Parker and journal- ist Mike Dennison, Parker suggests that Democrats toward the top of the Mon- tana ticket may be in jeopardy of losing races if Trump’s statewide support moves toward 60 percent.
That kind of statewide support would take a Schweitzer-like voter turnout machine. Neither Democrats nor Repub- licans currently have many big enthusias- tic visions for where to move our country or our state.
Maybe the four-way presidential race in Montana among Clinton, Johnson, Stein and Trump will increase voter turnout somewhat. More likely it’s the citizen initiatives put onto our ballot that will prompt bigger turnouts.
Zac Perry of Hungry Horse is the only Democrat running for reelection in the Flathead. Perry was active in the last Leg- islature working with both Democrats and Republicans. Perry has been very helpful of Columbia Fall’s local redevel- opment e orts.
Columbia Falls is a city in economic transition. With the shutdown of another local timber mill and past shutdown of the aluminum company, the city needs leaders like Perry to help provide a steady hand to the fresh demographic of younger entrepreneurs moving the area.
Flathead locals should hasten their support of Perry, who won elections last cycle by the smallest of margins. Perry represents that no-nonsense attitude needed to move all of us forward.
For the fourth year in a row, Mon- tana ranked rst in the nation for busi- ness startup activity. Montana’s top rank was based on measures like new busi- ness owners and new business startups. Columbia Falls is leading in that much- needed, entrepreneurial can-do attitude. That’s no-nonsense leadership.
WFOR ACCESS
HEN THE MONTANA
against the Department of Fish, Wild- life, and Parks to “quiet” (clarify) his title by correcting the location of a FWP ease- ment across his property. FWP eventu- ally settled out of court by correcting the mistake. At no point in the process was legal stream access denied, and indeed to this day Gianforte allows people to access the East Gallatin River by walk- ing on his property above the high-wa- ter mark.
To further illustrate just how the public trust doctrine is used in politi- cal debates, consider Gov. Steve Bull- ock’s response to Gianforte’s invitation to sh on his property. “Thanks for the invitation. But the beauty is, that’s a pub- lic right of way. I don’t need your per- mission.” This might make a nice politi- cal sound bite, but in fact, both the state Supreme Court and the Legislature spe- ci cally say that protecting the public’s right to stream recreation does not cre- ate an easement or right of way.
Given their victories, it is no surprise that access advocates are expanding their target to include access to public wildlife on private lands. After all, they contend, if people cannot be prevented from accessing state water that ows across private stream beds and banks, why should they be denied access to state wildlife that similarly “ ows” across pri- vate land. This motivates access zealots to argue that landowners should not be granted damage or shoulder sea- son hunts unless they allow free public access during the regular season.
The public trust argument has even been put forward as a solution to the recent sh kill that closed 200 miles of the Yellowstone River to recreation. Writing in the Billings Gazette, a guest columnist contended that the low water levels and high temperatures giving rise to the parasite killing white sh are the result of cattle grazing and irrigation. Never mind the fact that many Montana rivers ran dry in August before irriga- tion brought late-season return ows. He asserts that “it is a public trust obli- gation for the governor and state wildlife agencies to protect the citizens’ right to shing, recreation and higher quality water” and calls on citizens to sue the state in favor of white sh over cows.
No doubt the access zealots will con- tinue their public trust march, but that doesn’t mean true Montana sportsmen and women have to follow their lead. It is time to return to Montana’s roots by honoring private property rights – and, indeed, by celebrating them. The next time you see a “No Trespassing” sign or an orange fence post, don’t join the ranks of the access activists; follow the advice from BigSkyFishing.com – “all that is usually required is a polite request to the landowner.”
THE INSATIABLE THIRST
“FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW, MONTANA RANKED FIRST IN THE NATION FOR BUSINESS STARTUP ACTIVITY.”
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
Supreme Court issued its
decision regarding access for oating the Dearborn and Beaverhead rivers in 1984, no one could have imag- ined the battles that would ensue over the next 30 years. Not only did the court ruling open most Montana’s rivers and streams to recreation “without regard to streambed ownership or navigabil- ity,” it laid the foundation for invoking the “public trust doctrine” in a myriad
of resource policy debates.
That doctrine was invoked in the 1984
Supreme Court decision on the grounds that the Montana Constitution says waters are “the property of the state for the use of its people.” Hence, the court concluded, the state has a trust respon- sibility to maintain access for people to use their water for recreation. The state Legislature tried to put sideboards on the ruling with the Stream Access Law in 1985 by clearly stating that the law does not grant an easement for the public to cross private property to obtain access.
One might think that the 1984 court decision, the 1985 law, and subsequent re nements, such as the 2009 bridge access law, would have settled the access issue. With wind in their sails, however, stream access zealots have demonstrated an insatiable appetite for more and more. Led mainly by the Public Land/Water Access Association, Inc. (PLWA), these activists le lawsuit after lawsuit in the name of the “public trust” – and not just to water, but also to wildlife.
Like bees to honey, PLWA is espe- cially attracted to properties where private landowners have invested in sh and wildlife habitat. For exam- ple, access advocates licked their chops at the prospect of shing the Mitchell Slough where private landowners – who own the streambed and pay taxes on it – invested millions of dollars to create a trout stream out of what was essen- tially an irrigation ditch. Similarly, they targeted access to the Ruby River after the private owner changed land uses and invested in sh and wildlife habitat. Now rumor has it that the Darlington Ditch near the Madison River is in their sights.
Rather than trying to “gut” Montana’s stream access law, as PLWA claims, land- owners are simply protecting their pri- vate property and their investments in conservation. You’d think this would be something sportsmen and women would applaud.
If the lawsuits weren’t enough, stream access has become a major issue in the current gubernatorial race. Campaign ads attack Greg Gianforte by claiming that he blocked stream access on his property, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Gianforte did le suit
Terry Anderson is a William A. Dunn Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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