This is where hunters go, when they go to heaven. This is Valhalla for those obsessed with chasing massive, wild elk. The Front is the meat and potatoes of mule deer hunting in Montana, and finding that monster muley buck means you’ve got a hunt of a lifetime. The Front is a throwback to a time when a knock on the door is greeted with a smile, a cup of coffee and permission to hunt down on a piece of CRP, but don’t let the wife see you, she dotes on those roosters, feeds them during the winter. The Front is where we go when we need to remember what it feels like to be wild, wooly and western. The Rocky Mountain Front, from the Bob down the reefs and the coulees, across the grasslands and fens, to the wheat fields, hay meadows and towns, is the heart of Montana.
In December 2006, President Bush signed into law legislation that Sen. Max Baucus pushed through Congress withdrawing the federal mineral rights, and providing a mechanism for willing sellers and willing buyers to trade out, or retire federal leases held. This was a historic, bipartisan effort. Hunters and anglers, along with community leaders along the Front, and conservation groups led the charge to keep the Front the way it is.
Fortunately, the Land Board, and most important, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, heard the call of everyday, public land hunters and anglers, and implemented a six-month deferral on those proposed leases. One potential lease parcel, as a matter of record, was on the Blackleaf Wildlife Management Area. This WMA is home to elk, mule deer and grizzly bear, as well as the other couple hundred of species that use the Front as their home, including the big-game hunter.
Sacrificing irreplaceable wildlife habitat, which sustains traditional uses such as hunting and fishing as well as recreational and agricultural industries, for the short-term gains of the oil and gas companies makes no sense when the vast majority of lands leased by industry are currently not being developed. Developing some 800 acres will do nothing to reduce the price of oil, because it’s natural gas, not oil, that may or may not be located near the Front. Anyone who says different is pandering to the fears of a stressed population, and is making hay, when the rest of Montana suffers for the benefit of an industry that is already running roughshod over the American public.
Montanans are sacrificing greatly as we meet the demand for domestic energy production. We do so graciously, and with a determination that as we develop these resources, we will do it on the terms set by Montanans, not the oil cartels, not the politicians and not through the unneeded sacrifice of what makes Montana great. Keeping the Front just the way it is, and what Montanans have repeatedly asked for. Kudos to the governor for listening to hunters and anglers and deferring these leases while those who are serious about keeping Montana the last, best place find solutions instead of obfuscating the issue.
Ben Lamb is conservation director for state and national issues for the Montana Wildlife Federation. He writes from Helena.
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