It's just a ploy to move public lands into private hands

Rep. Mark Blasdel has positioned himself as a friend of the Montana sportsman, even co-chairing the Montana Sportsmen’s Caucus.

So I was surprised, even disturbed, to see the Montana speaker of the House on the list of participants in a recent private meeting in Utah aimed at undermining the public lands that are the foundation of Western Montana hunting and fishing.

Montanans love to argue about how are national forests being managed, or mismanaged. But even so, Montanans overwhelmingly agree that our national forests are a boon to our economy and our outdoor way of life.

Sure, we get frustrated with Smokey Bear, but we treasure our public lands because they belong to all of us and we all have the right to enjoy and voice opinions about them.

Mr. Blasdel, however, recently traveled to Salt Lake City to the Legislative Summit on the Transfer of Public Lands.

Transfer to whom? Organizers say “state authority.” But think about it.

Does Montana have the kind of funds necessary to fight forest fires, manage roads and trails over 35 percent of Montana? It doesn’t pencil out. The real ploy here is to transfer public lands to private hands.

My question is, why is a nice guy like Blasdel wrapped up with this Utah bunch? A true friend of Montana outdoor families would never even consider undermining our public lands heritage.

Long is a resident of Kalispell