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Over a thousand demonstrators packed into the Capitol Rotunda Monday afternoon for a public lands rally.
The Capitol rotunda played host to a raucous crowd of public land advocates Monday, many who traveled from across the state to denounce land transfer efforts at both the state and federal levels.
Organizers estimated, in-line with Independent Record estimates, that more than 1,000 rallied in Helena. Many carried signs calling for an end to the land transfer movement and the perceived threats of continued public ownership under state control.
Transfer opponents contend that states such as Montana would be unduly burdened by the financial impact of owning millions of additional acres of public lands, citing firefighting and other management costs. They say states would be forced to sell off the lands without a viable means of paying for management, putting public lands in private ownership.
Supporters have argued that federal policies closed roads while stifling timber and mineral industries. Under state control, they say, the lands would be better managed and become an economic catalyst for rural communities.
Speakers included fly-fishing guide and Trout TV host Hillary Hutcheson, who told the crowd ?This heist is an assault on my lifeblood, not just my livelihood.?
The session?s rally took on a more personal tone directed at one of the leading land transfer advocates in Montana and the West. American Lands Council CEO Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, was the subject of direct criticism on signs, along with allusions to her legislation proposing a study of or requesting the transfer of federal government lands to Montana.
Referring to Fielder?s district, Prickly Pear Land Trust Executive Director Mary Hollow said to cheers, ?Let's let them hear us down every hall in this building and all the way to Sanders County.?
This story will be updated.
Over a thousand demonstrators packed into the Capitol Rotunda Monday afternoon for a public lands rally.
The Capitol rotunda played host to a raucous crowd of public land advocates Monday, many who traveled from across the state to denounce land transfer efforts at both the state and federal levels.
Organizers estimated, in-line with Independent Record estimates, that more than 1,000 rallied in Helena. Many carried signs calling for an end to the land transfer movement and the perceived threats of continued public ownership under state control.
Transfer opponents contend that states such as Montana would be unduly burdened by the financial impact of owning millions of additional acres of public lands, citing firefighting and other management costs. They say states would be forced to sell off the lands without a viable means of paying for management, putting public lands in private ownership.
Supporters have argued that federal policies closed roads while stifling timber and mineral industries. Under state control, they say, the lands would be better managed and become an economic catalyst for rural communities.
Speakers included fly-fishing guide and Trout TV host Hillary Hutcheson, who told the crowd ?This heist is an assault on my lifeblood, not just my livelihood.?
The session?s rally took on a more personal tone directed at one of the leading land transfer advocates in Montana and the West. American Lands Council CEO Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, was the subject of direct criticism on signs, along with allusions to her legislation proposing a study of or requesting the transfer of federal government lands to Montana.
Referring to Fielder?s district, Prickly Pear Land Trust Executive Director Mary Hollow said to cheers, ?Let's let them hear us down every hall in this building and all the way to Sanders County.?
This story will be updated.
