Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 12.4.13

32 | DECEMBER 4, 2013
OPINION FLATHEADBEACON.COM

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’ Kellyn Brown
TWO THOUGHT
FOR Local Topics,
Opposing Views
Montana Road Trips
Watching Zinke

M
ILES OF CARS ARE IDLING IN FRONT OF By Joe Carbonari
By Tim Baldwin
me on the west side of Lookout Pass on Interstate

90. More than an hour has passed and people are In his run for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat Ryan Zinke and Corey Stapleton will likely
getting antsy, exiting their vehicles and wandering around Ryan Zinke faces the classic Republican primary be the top Republican primary race candidates.
in the rain for no apparent reason – rain that turns into dilemma. Can he appear conservative enough to However, what is “conservative enough” is not as
snow a few miles ahead and has caused this massive delay win the primary without destroying his chances clear because conservatism is noticeably chang-
for travelers, many, like me, returning from their Thanks- in the general election?
ing – some would say fracturing. How this trans-
giving weekend spent with family and friends. I suppose He ran successfully for the Montana Senate, lates into successful Republican primary races
we might have to camp here, which makes me feel fortu- in 2009, and has participated in two sessions of will be studied by political scientists for years to

nate I brought along my ski gear, headlamp and sleeping the Legislature, representing an ideologically come. In the meantime, Zinke likely has what it
bag, just in case I have to crash in the chain-up area.
split Whiteish Senate district. His curious 2012 takes to draw support among most conservatives.
I have driven this road more than 100 times, this last run as the lieutenant governor portion of the po- A former Navy Seal commander, Zinke pos-
stretch of interstate that has connected me to my family litical dilettante Neil Livingstone’s gubernatorial sesses leadership and team playing skills. His
in Spokane, Wash., for 15 years. From my homes in Pow- ticket gave Zinke statewide exposure and, argu- state voting record shows he is interested in the
ell, Wyo., Yellowstone National Park, Missoula, Bismarck, ably, some conservative credentials. One wonders merits of legislation more than which party pro-
N.D., Bozeman, and now the Flathead Valley. After so if that wasn’t the plan all along.
posed it and his lieutenant governor race demon-
many trips, I consider myself an expert on this particular My guess is that it will come down to Zinke vs. strates his willingness to step outside the political

artery that begins at St. Regis and passes the 50,000 Silver Corey Stapleton as the more electable alternatives box to accomplish political goals.
Dollar Bar (which once was the 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar, to the seemingly ultra-conservative Matt Rosen- But Zinke’s personal conscience should not be
but added more silver dollars), winds up past Lookout Pass dale. Guessing again, I suspect that John Lewis, his compass in making political decisions that af-
Ski Resort and down the other side of the rugged spine into ex-Baucus aide and thus far the sole Democratic fect millions of Montanans and Americans. The
the old mining towns of Wallace and Kellogg, on through candidate, would much prefer facing Rosendale.
real political courage test for any politician is to
the Idaho panhandle and into Washington.
Zinke appears to be by far the strongest candi- be objective: to identify the problems, state the
I subconsciously check of these mile markers as I pass date of the bunch. His military career will stand (short and long term) goals to solve them, set the

them, measuring the distance I’ve traveled and how far I him in good stead. His leadership abilities have plans to accomplish the goals, and get it done us-
have to go. But sometimes, like today, that internal clock been clearly demonstrated. He is likable, intelli- ing proper methods – all while following the Con-
is disrupted. Sometimes the snow falls too hard, too fast. gent, well-spoken, and politically experienced.
stitution.
Sometimes there are obstacles in the way, like that deer, In my opinion, the only question that remains On that point, unlike Senator Dianne Fein-
whose legs were splayed across the icy interstate several relates to his political courage. Will he be able to stein’s (R-Calif.) description of Congress’ role,
years ago.
call his own shots, to follow his conscience, in the Zinke expresses that he will uphold the Consti-
I had pulled over in front of an oicer, his vehicle’s lights face of the pressures he will inevitably face from tution as a lawmaker and not just make laws to
lashing. It was a sad scene, this despondent deer. And with his necessarily more conservative supporters? I let the federal courts sort out the constitutional

the oicer’s nod, I slowly approached the animal. Because think, yes. But let’s watch.
questions. If Zinke sticks to this platform, he will
of its small size, I thought I could push it along the ice onto be politically successful.
the grass, where it could gain more traction. Bad idea. I had
barely grazed the deer with my hand, when all the energy GUESTCOLUMN | DeeBrown
it had built up lying on the road was delivered with a swift
kick to my ribs. And in an amazing recovery, it somehow Changes Needed in Block Management Program
regained coordination and dashed of the road. Now I took
its place, the wind knocked out of my lungs, wondering if

I was going to vomit. I tenderly stood and skated on my Legislators hear monthly about Montana Fish, to the BMA such as soil and erosion control. We all
shoes back to the car, gave the oicer a good-Samaritan sa- Wildlife and Parks matters from constituents. Last know the cooperator will use the funds to enhance
lute and resumed the haul back to Bozeman. Already be- month’s audit of the Block Management program the land but know it is just semantics to say that it
hind schedule.
highlighted some needed changes. This program al- isn’t pay to allow hunter access to the BMA. With-
But another pass loomed several hours down the road. lows public hunting access on private land through out the access to hunters there would have been no
Homestake, near Butte, is treacherous in the winter and a mutual agreement with FWP. The landowners are need for the 1985 program to begin.
on that bitter cold night it was covered with sleet. It was so called cooperators in the agreement while the prop- One of the problems that we all recognize is

slick that drivers traveling up the west side simply slid onto erties are known as BMAs.
the accrual of Montana land into the hands of the
the shoulder – not crashed, just slowly drifted until their These BMA lands are accessed by the hunter megarich out-of-stater who sometimes doesn’t
wheels spun and the vehicles were made obsolete. Like to- completing a sign-in card or getting a permission know nor care about our hunting way of life or the
day’s scene on Lookout, hours passed while drivers crawled slip from FWP. At the end of the season the pay- impact of public game harbored on their land. The
out of their cars and stammered around befuddled by their ments to the landowners are based on the hunter sister problem to this is our well-documented stand
helplessness. Eventually, a plow drove by and sprayed sand days gathered through the counts. Cooperators can on private property rights in this state. Therein lies
and chemicals in the left-hand lane. That was it. That was receive up to $11 per hunter day with no more than the conundrum.
all the assistance we would get.
$12,000 a year for the BMA. Some landowners ac- The audit didn’t solve this problem but did ad-

With the right-hand lane still a sheet of ice, drivers cept a lat fee while others have chosen no compen- dress some changes that will make the Block Man-
banded together and slid vehicles of the shoulder, over one sation.
agement program stronger for future hunters. We
lane and onto the sand. My sister, who lived with me at the Audit work discovered that FWP needed to were skunked (again) this year in our hunt for ant-
time, was in the driver’s seat of one of those irst vehicles. explore diferent methods to pay owners because lers but know many of you had a successful season.
She maintained a terror-stricken face as three of us shoved of inconsistencies in the system. Last year’s total Now if you’d call me with the inside secrets to
her car, its wheels spinning, and yelled at her to “loor it payout was $4.95 million, so we’re talking about “where” and “when” we will be prepared for next
and don’t stop!” It was a ine example of Montanans’ dura- some serious hunter dollars here. The audit work hunting season. I will also listen to solutions to

bility and we both safely made it home.
also chastised the department for using funds to Montana’s conundrum with large parcels in private
Since my teenage years, mountains and forests have compensate landowners when FWP already had a hands with no access to Montanans. In the mean-
separated me from my family and we literally dash through conservation easement on the property. Small ad- time I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and look
the snow to see each other during the holidays. It’s worth justments like this will mean more dollars used in forward to Christmas.
the replaced bumpers and occasional white knuckles. And the proper channels to gain access for more hunting
despite this delay (which would end after two hours), it’s opportunity.
always worth the trip. Drive safe this holiday season.
It was pointed out during the audit that the Dee Brown is a Republican state senator
money paid to landowners was not for the actual from Hungry Horse

hunter access to the land but rather for mitigation